Captain's Hart
by Heartlocket1004
Summary: Arianna Hart was just a regular teenager… until she's recruited by SHIELD. Smart, pretty, and stubborn but with a good heart, she soon becomes one of SHIELDs most capable spies. When aliens invade NY, she joins the Avengers, determined to fight for her friends. What she didn't expect was to fall in love... with Captain America himself. (Avengers through Cap America II)
1. Prologue

* A/N I do not own Avengers, Marvel, or anything related to the movies. I only own my own character. Contains spoilers for the Avengers and Captain America: Winter Soldier movies.

In the quiet neighborhood, the stillness of the night was broken by the boisterous laughing coming from The Cavern, a small pub located at the end of the street. Normally the streets were bustling, but at this time in the night, it was dark and bare. A man stood in the shadows, watching the back door intently as he breathed softly, hiding the crystals his warm breath made in the cold winter night.

18 year old Arianna Hart stepped out of the pub, dumping the trash into the bins and dusting her hands. She checked her watch, and was relieved that it was time for her to clock out. Just as she was about to turn back inside, she paused, sensing a presence. She slowly swiveled back around, her eyes scanning the dark alleyway as she slowly reached behind her to grasp the doorknob. Just then there was a rustle, and she almost screamed as a man tackled her just as a gunshot sounded, pulling her behind a bin. But he blocked her mouth and she was left breathless from the sudden movement as hazel eyes briefly met blue eyes, before the man quickly stood up and shot an arrow in the direction of the gunshot.

She blinked, unsure if she was seeing the scene correctly, as the man ducked down beside her, only to quickly draw another arrow, duck out the side of the bin, and shoot it again. This time, instead of returning to cover, he slowly lowered his bow and stood. Arianna watched warily as he flitted away briefly, presumably to check his target, before he was back in front of her staring down at her without emotion. She also stood very slowly, watching him as carefully as he seemed to watching her but her eyes kept flitting around to check her surroundings as well.

Just as she straightened her back, she became aware of another presence at the entrance to the alley and she tensed. "No need to worry. We're safe… well safer." The new man's voice chuckled. Finally, the archer turned away from her, moving his stance to be facing the new man and Arianna slowly turned around to faced the man. He was unassuming, his build clearly saying he wasn't a fighter but fit enough that if Arianna hadn't been trained in various martial arts, he would probably be able to subdue her. Arianna's eyes narrowed, not liking how she was sandwiched between the two men. The newcomer seemed to notice her discomfit, and he waved his hand. Immediately, the archer moved away, heading over to stand next to the body of Arianna's would-be killer.

"Arianna Hart. My name is Phil Coulson, I work for the Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate, or SHIELD." Arianna raised her eyebrow. "You might want to just stick with the acronym." She muttered, and she heard the archer snort. Phil Coulson chuckled: "Yes, I've been told."

"You might want to listen then." Arianna retorted. This time the archer gave a louder snort, and Coulson sighed, before he continued: "Now, I'm sure you know what we must be here for." Immediately Arianna tensed. "Actually, no." She responded flatly. "Miss Hart, have you heard of the CIA?" Arianna gave a small sarcastic smile even as she cringed inside. "Yes, everyone has. A not-so-secret organization of spies for our country."

"Very funny." Coulson sighed. "Miss Hart, let me explain what SHIELD is. We are an independent organization of agents dedicated to security and peace." Arianna frowned as she glanced at the archer and then her eyes flickered down to the body before she refocused on Coulson. He nodded. "There are also others out there like him- it's the reason SHIELD exists really. To protect innocent lives from people like them."

"While I suppose I am grateful you saved me, why are you telling me this? Why was that man targeting me in the first place? I doubt even if you save random girls, you don't normally send an archer and tell them about this… SHIELD." Arianna glanced at the archer again.

"You are quite right. The truth is, part of the reason you were attacked tonight is our fault. We've been tracking you, you have some qualities we could use." Arianna frowned at that. "What do you mean, 'use'?" She asked suspiciously.

"We would like to hire you." Coulson explained. "You are extremely skilled in mixed boxing, taekwondo, and karate. You are also a junior champion gymnast, particularly good with the batons. Your skills of observation and preservation instinct, while they could be polished, are above average."

Arianna sighed. "I'm not that special. Sure I dabble in different sports, but anyone else out there could be just as good. So thanks, but…" "We started tracking you because you hacked into the CIA database." The archer suddenly said bluntly. Arianna closed her eyes, and exhaled sharply.

"I'm not sure what you mean." She suggested, but Coulson replied: "Miss Hart, we know you hacked into the CIA database; you would have been issued with a summon to JV or at least issued a warning, but we overlooked it because of two reasons." Arianna waited as Coulson smiled. "First of all, we were impressed by your impressive skills and after finding out more about you, we decided you were the potential we are constantly looking for."

Arianna waited, becoming impatient as Coulson's pause continued. "And?" She asked eventually. The archer's lips quirked and Coulson continued to grin at her. "And you hacked the CIA because you had figured out the code for an international terrorist plan. So you left friendly hints for them to figure it out. That responsible, and just attitude- it's what we need. The one thing that can't really be taught."

Arianna pursed her lips. "You said hire," she began and Coulson nodded. "Yes." He said and Arianna frowned a little. "You also said espionage." She pointed out. Coulson nodded again.

"We would hire you as our computer technician officially, but we'd like to ask you to join our spy operations- specifically, strike team Delta. You'd work with Barton, here," he nodded at the archer and Arianna glanced at him, "and one other person."

Arianna sighed, shaking her head. "You're explaining so much to me, you seem confident I'll join. What makes you think I'd accept?" She mused, and Barton grinned at last as he said: "Because you're a single child with a poorly mother, so responsible that you juggle three jobs to help support yourself and her, clever but too busy for college as you're desperate for money. So you've enrolled in online courses, you're ready for work, and you're lying about your age to get a well-paying job here."

He gestured at the pub. Arianna stared at him, and Coulson said gently: "SHIELD will pay you well, and we'll put you through the best online college and all the education you need. We'd essentially sponsor you, in exchange for your commitment and agreement to work long-term, and you'd be doing good for the world."

Arianna looked at them. "Why me?" She asked a last, and Coulson smiled at her. "We told you- you're what we need." "But don't think we'll go easy on you because of that." Barton interjected. "You'll still need to train hard; the job's not easy and we'd be expecting you to put your life on the line every time. You're saving people, but it's from the shadows. I mean that. No coming home to a peaceful family life."

Arianna snorted. "Sure, because my life has been so peaceful." She muttered, before giving the two men a long, contemplative look. She glanced again at her would-be killer. She thought about the good she could do. Finally, she thought about her sickly parents, and the silent house she often came home to. She took a deep breath.

"I'm in."

* * *

They weren't kidding when they said training would be tough. In her first six months at SHIELD, Arianna was almost certain she'd die before she even went out into the field. She was trained for five hours in the morning with the regular recruits, was given an hour for lunch break, and then six hours of training in the afternoon with Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff in various forms of defense and martial arts.

It was highly unusual for the two arguably best agents at SHIELD to personally train a new recruit. But Clint, and Strike Team Delta's handler Phil Coulson, had been adamant and SHIELD's director, Nick Fury, had caved and given the green light. Barton and Coulson were confident that Arianna had what it took, and Barton particularly was anxious that she get the best training she could, knowing what it was like out in the field.

Arianna's day would always end in study. For three months, she studied arms, weaponry, strategies- anything useful for a fighter's survival. For the three months after, she studied concealment, psychology, sociology- anything useful for a spy's survival. She was also expected to hone in on her intellectual skills, and so would spend the early hours of the day in either the tech rooms or the labs.

She was eating, breathing, sleeping, and working at SHIELD at all hours of the day. At the beginning, she thought she would die right there. Although her muscles were in good condition and she was used to running on low levels of sleep, she was nowhere near prepared for the program SHIELD put her through. Every part of her body ached and it became normal to be sporting bruises all over her body.

But three months in, her body became used to the abuse and her improvement skyrocketed. She flew through everything SHIELD was throwing at her, and in her fourth month she managed to pin Clint down. Arianna would never forget the proud look that flashed in his eyes- before he flipped her onto her back again.

By month six, she'd managed to pin Natasha down. She had been terrified of the woman's reaction, but the experience only drew the two closer. Arianna had the feeling that by proving her worth, she'd been accepted as a teammate by the aloof Russian assassin. It was around that time that she also discovered a talent with knives, Clint joking that he should've guessed since her specialty in gymnastics had been the batons.

A few days later, in May 2008, Arianna was accepted into MIT. Natasha raised her brows, impressed, while Clint had just laughed jubilantly and bought her flowers to celebrate… after kicking her ass in the boxing ring first. Coulson had also congratulated her, sending her a box of chocolates and lilies- her favorite flowers.

By the next month, she'd reached clearance level 5 and had dropped out of regular training, spending all her time working with Strike Team Delta, or in the labs, or studying her college courses. It was also the first time she went out into the field. She was accompanied by Clint on her first mission, and she sailed through it smoothly, although she did blow up an entire factory.

Clint had just shaken his head, laughing at her back when she'd had to sheepishly explain the situation to Fury, who'd raised his eyebrow while Coulson stood behind him looking very amused. It would be the beginning of a steady track record of successful missions for the brunette as the months flew by and she showed only improvement.

Before she knew it, Arianna had been with SHIELD for a year. Her one year mark at SHIELD was also quite possibly the worst anniversary she could have asked for. Strike Team Delta had been sent on a mission to Budapest. Those few days were quite possibly the worst in Arianna's life. Between Clint getting captured, Natasha freaking out, and Arianna getting shot in the stomach, it was a miracle they made it out at all. Arianna had never seen the redheaded Russian so frazzled until Budapest.

The three agents, upon completing their missions and managing to become exiled from the city after blowing a hole in a treasured monument, had sworn to each other to keep what had happened there a secret. One good thing did come out of the whole mess. Natasha and Arianna had seen eye-to-eye after Clint's capture, and it was then that the two became firm friends. Clint had beamed when Arianna had opened her eyes after surgery and he'd found the two speaking on a first-name basis.

18 months in, Arianna was promoted to level 6 clearance. She would never forget Coulson's proud look as he handed her the promotion, nor the way Clint and Natasha's eyes had lit up when they heard the news. It was perhaps the fasted promotion in SHIELD history, although Coulson never confirmed it for her. He simply, indulgently, informed her that she was possibly the youngest level 6 in SHIELD history at age nineteen.

She was finally sent out on her first solo mission, and it went without too many hiccups… although she burnt down a building in her escape. She'd winced as Fury had looked at her disbelievingly while Clint howled with laughter. Coulson had sighed, and asked her why she always left some form of destruction behind on any of her 'first experiences'.

A month before her 20th birthday, her mother passed away. It almost broke Arianna's heart, but Clint, Nat, and Phil were there to support her through the ordeal and in truth, it was somewhat relieving to see her mother finally at peace after struggling for so long. Phil sat her down seriously to discuss her future, but she chose to stay at SHIELD and with STRIKE team DELTA, having found the family she had never known.

About six months after her 20th birthday, Arianna broke. She'd been in Russia on a recon mission that had gone horribly wrong when Arianna's SHIELD partner had turned on them. Natasha had been furious and frantic, but could do nothing for fear of the Red Room finding her. Arianna was gone for four days before SHIELD managed to send in a rescue squad. When Clint had stepped into her cell, his heart had almost stopped. The girl's brown hair was matted with blood, her body bruised and bleeding as deep jagged cuts lined her. She'd been hanging from her arms limply, unconscious, her hands cuffed to the walls.

But the physical torture had been nothing compared to the mental torture she had to endure. Horrific images scarred her mind from the many drugs the Russian organization had injected her with, and Clint spent many sleepless nights waiting for Arianna to wake up from the drugs, screaming as nightmares danced through her mind. Natasha had left on a mission the day after Arianna's return, unable to stay and watch. She'd gone straight back to find the bastards, and returned three weeks later with her goals accomplished.

Natasha had entered Arianna's ward to find a thin and weak girl with hollowed eyes grinning weakly at her. She'd pursed her lips, before moving next to the girl. Looking carefully into her eyes, she saw the terrors still there, deep inside, and with a low sigh, the Black Widow had gently pulled the girl into a hug. Arianna had hesitated, biting her lip before bursting into tears. Natasha glanced across the room at Clint, but Hawkeye stood with his jaw set and his eyes tight.

The two stayed to watch over the girl protectively, and after three months of intense training and psychological help, Arianna was back to her cheery self. But the shadow was now there, and all of them knew without anyone speaking, that it would always be there to haunt the girl. Her eyes, which still often sparkled with mirth, were now darker and she drew a cold wall around her to those outside her circle, now cautious to trust. It was never spoken of, but Clint and Natasha saw the death of a child's soul in the hardened hazel eyes.

Once Arianna was deemed recovered, she and Natasha were moved to California after an alert was raised on Tony Stark. Arianna was hired first as an intern in the lower levels of Stark's company; her mission was to dig around and find what was wrong with the man whose self-destructive tendencies were beginning to affect SHIELD.

Natasha was hired three days later, under the alias Natalie Rushman and was ordered to work her way up Stark's company to keep watch on the man. She eventually managed to become the personal secretary for Stark's girlfriend, Pepper Potts, and made contact with Tony Stark when he signed the CEO position over Miss Potts

Natasha revealed herself to Stark about a week later when Director Fury demanded to meet the man himself. It was deemed more important to keep Arianna under wraps while Stark's nerves were still on edge, as SHIELD did not think he would react very well to the offer of help from their agents. When the incident with Stark's failing Arc reactor and the Hammer Industries threat blew up, Arianna was also pulled out to help Natasha and Stark. Strangely enough, she and Stark bonded over the incident; maybe because she had been the one to save him when she'd found him dying in his Malibu mansion.

Although Stark consequently ordered SHIELD and Natasha out of his company, he privately asked Arianna to stay in contact. Tony had been impressed with her technical talents and her pursuit of a Computer Science degree at MIT, his own alma mater, and her light-hearted humor and calm temperament were a good contrast to his sarcastic and reckless nature. He claimed he wanted to stay friends because he was intrigued with her hacking skills, but Arianna recognized the lonely soul in the genius and good-naturedly agreed to stay friends with the man. They maintained contact throughout the year, Stark often aiding her in her degree when her work piled between various missions in between.

The day after the Stark incident, Arianna was called in the middle of the night to join Clint in New Mexico where she was a witness to the strangest event ever. She had been keeping an eye on a man called Thor who had been after an immovable hammer that SHIELD had been monitoring after it crashed on Earth. Her mission ended that day in watching Thor almost being killed, before regaining his Norse God powers and his hammer. She reported back to base after Thor disappeared into the sky, ready to end his battles back on his home planet, Asgard.

Two days after that, Arianna sat watching the news as the Hulk was unleased into the world. She watched the recap, and the twenty year old had simply shaken her head sadly at the consequences of an experiment gone horribly wrong. She'd read several of Dr. Banner's papers, and she couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor man who would now have to live the rest of his life carrying the burden of his mistake.

A few weeks later, and two days before her 21st birthday, Arianna stood before Coulson once more as she was promoted to level 7. Clint and Natasha were present for the promotion, and while all three of them congratulated her, they couldn't help but feel a small loss as they each examined the pretty but darker young woman standing before them. She had seen their looks, and just smiled at them, causing Clint and Natasha's lips to tug into small answering smiles while Coulson cheerfully announced he would be treating them to dinner.

Almost a year later, in early May 2011, Arianna graduated from MIT. Tony flew in, causing an uproar as everyone wanted to get to meet their famous alum. Clint and Arianna all slapped their hands over their faces when Iron Man arrived at the graduation ceremony- the last thing Arianna needed as a spy was attention, but it seemed Tony Stark could not live without it. Thankfully, though, when he saw Arianna's less than impressed face, Tony got the message and left with a cheery goodbye.

He apologized later when he came over in a much quieter manner to the celebration dinner Coulson had organized. She'd just laughed at him, before thanking him for coming anyway- his appearance had taken away the attention from her at the fact that she had managed to graduate in three years, despite continual absences. The evening ended in laughter as they all saw Tony's horrified face at the fact that he'd missed Arianna's 21st last year. The smile slid off Arianna's face however, when Tony declared he needed to make it up and spent the rest of the night chasing the brunette girl in an attempt to get her to drink twenty-one shots.


	2. The Beginning

*A/N Story contains mild swearing but only as far as was included in the original movie script.

 _May 16, 2011._

Arianna Hart was currently doing some computer work for SHIELD. After another successful mission in Italy, the agent was taking a break and doing SHIELD a favor by working in the offices for once. It had become a sort of pattern- each member of Strike Team Delta had their own way of winding down after a grilling mission. If there wasn't an emergency, Clint took a break and disappeared off the grid, Natasha (although she rarely took breaks) would just train and do things like yoga, and Arianna worked at headquarters.

It had been a few days, and Arianna headed into the office room she shared with the other Strike Team Delta members, expecting another dull day of hacking into systems to check their security and spending most of her time chatting with Stark about the energy designs for part of his new Tower. So she was surprised when around 1pm, a message had beeped on her computer from Coulson: 'Captain found inside Valkyrie. Assistance requested.'

Arianna stared at the message for a moment longer, before she switched off her computer, leapt out of her seat and was out the door, stopping only to lock it firmly behind her. She ran all the way to Director Fury's office, arriving out of breath and wide-eyed. Fury raised an eyebrow at her but Coulson smiled when he saw her at the door.

"You called?" She said eagerly, and he laughed. Arianna had come to see Coulson as the father figure she was missing in her life, and so it was only natural that Coulson's obsession for Captain America was at least partially passed down to her. While she wasn't in love with the man as Coulson arguably was, she respected the war hero and treated the man's memory with admiration.

"Agent Hart," Dicrector Fury began, "you are here because Agent Coulson has specifically asked you to be here. We found the Valkyrie crash in the Arctic, and the good Captain frozen inside." "He's alive?" Arianna asked with no little surprise.

Fury nodded. "He was held preserved in a frozen state, and we have begun the extraction process to get him home." Arianna nodded as Fury continued: "Coulson's been placed in charge of the operation, and is heading out with the plane that will bring Captain Rogers back to New York. He's asked for you to be his second."

Arianna's eyes widened. "Second in command." She said, looking at Coulson blankly. The two men laughed at the girl's poorly hidden surprise. "Yes, we thought it should be alright. You've proven your worth despite age, and you have enough experience under your belt." Fury said with a hint of amusement.

Arianna nodded, smoothing out her expression for them, and the men grinned at her now-professional stance. Despite the fact that Arianna was now a deadly assassin and spy, to both men she would always still be, to a certain extent, the pure girl that Coulson had brought in, whose heart at the very least could never be corrupted.

"When do we leave, sir?" Arianna asked, and Fury answered: "An hour, so pack your bags quickly." Arianna's eyebrow shot up and she glanced at Coulson in disbelief, but turned back to Fury. "Yes, sir." She said, and Fury grinned at her. "Off you go, Arianna." He smirked and she nodded.

Coulson followed her out, and Arianna glanced at him. "Really? An hour? You don't hold back when it's your idol at stake." She teased and Coulson laughed. "It's because we need to get him to a medical facility immediately. After all, he has been frozen for seventy years." He said, trying to keep a straight face.

Arianna laughed at him, and he caved as well, their laughter echoing down the halls as she hurried to her office. Coulson left her to arrange the warm clothes for them, so she simply packed up some knives and a gun with extra cartridges, just in case. She grabbed the always-ready overnight bag each of the team kept in the office for emergencies on her way out, carefully locking the door behind her.

She wandered off towards the roof, heading for the quinjet that would take them to the good captain. The jet itself was a flurry of activity as the crew made it ready for the trip, but Arianna leaned against the jet as she waited impatiently for Coulson to appear.

He laughed as he came up, carrying a large file, seeing her tapping her foot restlessly as she leaned against the jet. "You're late." She complained and he shook his head in amusement. "No, you're early." He teased her, before he gestured for her to join him as he boarded.

"Sometimes, you can be just as childish as Clint." Arianna teased and Coulson laughed. He pointed out with a smile: "Says the real child!" Arianna wrinkled her nose and said, in a prim little girl's voice: "I'll have you know, I'm almost 22." She held up two fingers, like a child would do.

Coulson laughed and Arianna also cracked, joining his laughter as the pair settled into their seats. The jet took off minutes later and Arianna sat back, using the hours they had to read the files Coulson had brought on the Captain one more time. She lingered on the report on his last moment before his crash, and then looking over the quick report that had been sent earlier that day from the recon team that had found the Valkyrie.

Arianna's brow furrowed and her lips pursed just slightly. Coulson, who'd been watching her, nodded and said: "He's had it rough." Arianna lifted her eyes and stared at Coulson. His eyes softened to see the sympathy in her eyes as the young woman murmured: "Rough doesn't even cover it. And I don't even want to think what it will be like for him when he wakes up and finds the world moved on without him."

Coulson nodded, but the pilot called: "Landing in thirty minutes, sir." "Good man." Coulson replied and Arianna's face slid into a professional mask as she stood up, heading over to read the readings on the jet's charts. "It'll be cold out there." She commented, glancing at Coulson.

The man nodded again as he replied lightly: "So wrap up. Don't want to catch a cold." He grinned and she smiled, although their faces became grim as the jet got closer to the crash-site. Arianna peered out the windshield as they approached, and even from afar she could see the partially uncovered black wing of the jumbo jet sticking out of the snow.

It was silent as their jet landed, and the pair shared looks of mixed anticipation and urgency as the jet door opened. The blast of cold air hit Arianna with a sharp smack, but she ignored it as she trudged out, following Coulson to the Valkyrie. The doors slid open for them as they approached, and the pair quickly walked inside.

Arianna shook the snow and ice off her head as the doors slid shut behind them. She turned to find it was Agent Wade waiting for them by the door controls and she sent a nod in greeting. Wade returned the nod as he said: "Sir, we've got him in the cockpit; we didn't have the equipment to defrost him but we've been monitoring him, as you ordered."

Coulson nodded and said firmly: "Good work, agent. We've brought a medical team, ready to receive as soon as we can move him." Ward nodded as he replied: "We can move him now- I had my team move him onto a stretcher when we first heard you would be coming."

"Alright, then. Let's get moving." Coulson ordered and Ward began to talk into his com as he led the way towards the cockpit. Arianna looked around the massive plane with interest, noting the several Hydra symbols painted along the way. As Ward stepped into the cockpit, Arianna stopped, staying by the door to observe.

The room was a flurry of activity with several agents standing beside monitors and screens to check the Captain kept stable; others had clearly been working on dismantling the jet's control system and looking for Hydra information. At the moment, however, they were all moving around the stretcher in the center of the room, getting ready to move the Captain.

She watched as the team finished preparations, attaching monitors to the stretcher to maintain constant supervision on the man's vitals. "Lock and load. Let's move out." Coulson ordered, and the team began to push the stretcher out of the jet. Arianna went ahead, ordering for a cover to be brought. She stopped by the jet doors, ready to open them.

As the team arrived, an agent appeared with the cover she'd requested, and Arianna tossed it to Ward. "Cover him." She ordered and Ward understood, quickly covering the man's exposed upper body. Arianna looked over at Coulson who gave her the thumbs up. She nodded and opened the door as the other agents pulled their coats closer, tightening it against the cold.

As soon as the doors opened, the team moved the Captain out into the freezing arctic air and Arianna called into her com: "Open the quinjet!" The doors slid open and the team moved the Captain inside where the medical team received him and began to work over him immediately.

Arianna headed back to the quinjet as the other agents returned to the Valkyrie to finish their own jobs. She nodded at Ward as she passed him and he nodded back, neither willing to pause even to speak in the freezing air. As soon as Arianna was back on board, Coulson ordered the doors shut and they took off.

Arianna took a careful step inside while Coulson stayed by the door to watch the medical team as they worked on the Captain, checking his vitals and beginning to defrost him. She leaned to the side, careful to stay out of the way, but close enough that she could get a clearer view of the man frozen in ice.

She could barely make him out through the thick ice covering his body, but the ice was thinner at the top, on his upper body. She examined the blond hair and the man's strong features. From what she could make out, the reports hadn't been lying when they said he was handsome- his features could've put a Greek god to shame (although perhaps not a Norse god).

But what drew her was the man's classic hairstyle, swept carefully to the side. It spoke of another era, an era that was now long past. "He's going to be in for a shock when he wakes up." Arianna murmured as she stepped back, placing herself beside Phil once more.

The man nodded, knowing what it was the woman had been looking at. "At least he'll find we won the war in the end." Phil replied lightly, and Arianna just nodded absently as she pointed out softly: "But he won't be able to make up what was lost."

Phil paused at that, but he didn't make any response. The rest of the flight back was spent in silence, and the two parted with brief nods once they landed back in New York, their jobs complete.

It was now up to the medical team to ensure the Captain's safe recovery, so Arianna left for her apartment, never dreaming that their next encounter would mark the biggest turning point in her life.

* * *

 _April 29, 2012_

"Shoot me now." Arianna muttered as she walked down the hall, and Clint chuckled. "Unfortunately, I'd probably end up shooting myself first." He teased and she laughed, although it ended in an impatient sigh. The pair had been on this security detail for what felt, to both of them, like forever.

In reality, it had only been a few months since they'd started this stint in New Mexico, but both were equally tired of the job. Neither cared much for protection work, and watching over a cube was probably the last thing either of them had ever expected to be doing for the better part of half a year.

The only thing that stopped either of them from cutting each other's throats in mutual agreement to escape this torture was Phil. He was the one leading the mission, and truth be told if he wasn't neither of them would still be here. Well, Clint wouldn't; Arianna didn't have as much flexibility.

As one of the few agents also gifted in the sciences, Arianna had been specifically called in to both help with the research on the Tesseract, and the security work in keeping the cube's identity and position a secret. While she would admit that researching the cube was fascinating, the hours she put in on security work almost didn't make it worth it to study the mysterious cube.

Arianna sighed as they entered the warehouse and she spotted Dr. Selvig and his team as they examined the Tesseract readings. She and Clint drifted wordlessly, their faces becoming blank as they slipped into their security roles.

Clint moved towards higher ground and settling in by the railings near the ventilation pipes, about a hundred feet off the ground. Arianna did the exact opposite as she moved closer to the cube, although she too maintained some distance from all the activity as she settled into a spot on the railings right above the scientists heads.

It was their natural instincts: 'Hawkeye' saw better from afar where he built what people often joked of was his nest, while 'Aria' removed herself and worked alone, keeping close enough to be able to react quickly but away from the general crowd.

Usually, when Nat joined them, she was more of the hands-on type. It completed the trio, and was probably one of the reasons STRIKE team DELTA were considered one of the most lethal teams in SHIELD. It was more than the fact that each member was the best combat agent in their field; they moved as one seamless unit, not one flaw in their system.

The day passes as slowly as any other and Arianna almost cried for joy when it was time for her break. She grinned as Clint sent her a grimace, before both agents' faces slid back into impassive indifference as Arianna headed to the cafeteria and Clint returned his attention to the cube. Arianna hummed a little as she headed off for food and rest, looking forward to the next two hours where she could have some peace and quiet.

Unfortunately, life had other plans. Her dinner was interrupted as the alarm went off and the announcement rang over the entire compound: "All personnel proceed to your designated vehicles. This is not a drill. Repeat…"

Arianna groaned internally but quickly jumped up, heading back towards the warehouse quickly. As agents began to spill out, hurrying to move into evacuation, Arianna slipped back inside. "Dr. Selvig." She greeted as she walked up and he glanced at her, nodding.

"What seems to be the problem, sir?" She asked and he explained: "Spontaneous advancement. The Tesseract won't shut down, so Agent Coulson's ordered an evac just in case." Arianna nodded, agreeing with the decision although it was grim. The evac would take at least an hour and if Selvig couldn't control the Tesseract's movements, the whole thing could blow up in their faces.

She glanced up at Clint, exchanging glances, before she turned to help the other scientists proceed with the evac. Clint had the situation under what control they could, and since she was technically on break her duty was to escort the staff out safely.

So, for the next half-hour Arianna moved quickly to have the staff cleared out of the warehouse and into their designated emergency vehicles. By that point, only Dr. Selvig and two other agents were left, but they couldn't move until the Director arrived and checked the situation himself. Arianna returned to her guard duty, her first priority now completed, and had been there for maybe five minutes when Director Fury called over the comms: "Hart."

"Director." She answered immediately, and he ordered curtly: "I want you down in the basement garage and helping Hill. She's moving out some highly sensitive equipment and I want someone else there overseeing the detail." "Yes, sir." Arianna replied firmly and he cut the connection.

She glanced up at Clint again, signaling her movement. He nodded once to show he'd seen, and Arianna slipped back out of the warehouse. She weaved her way past the few people still left in the facility, making their way hurriedly out, heading down to the garage.

She spotted Hill immediately as the woman stood overseeing some agents as they moved carts full of crates. Hill spotted the younger agent, too and nodded in brief greeting. "Hart." She said with just the slightest warmth in her tone. Arianna nodded back as she replied just as curtly: "Hill."

Arianna stopped beside the older woman, watching carefully for signs of tampering as the crates were brought out of the storage warehouse and loaded into the vans. Her brows furrowed just the tiniest bit. She hadn't known about anything being kept down there that was important enough that Maria herself had to oversee its removal. Arianna said conversationally: "Is the Director with the cube?"

"Yes, he is." Maria replied lightly, and Arianna nodded at the crates. "I assume I'm not supposed to know what's in those." She commented, teasing, and Maria answered with just the smallest bit of amusement in her voice: "No, you're not."

Lily's lip tugged into a small smile, but it dropped immediately as the building shook above their heads. She glanced up concernedly, but continued to watch the movements in the garage while Maria stared at the ceiling apprehensively.

"He'll be fine." Arianna said emotionlessly and Maria turned back to the activity below as she said indifferently: "I know he will." Arianna suppressed a chuckle. She wasn't sure she'd ever really get used to having to pretend to not care or worry about their fellow comrades. It was fine between teams but it would be unwise to show any emotion when around others, such as the agents working below them right now.

 _That's the problem with an organization of spies._ Arianna thought wryly as she kept a watchful eye on the crates as they were handled. _You never really know who you can trust._ She was broken from her thoughts as she heard footsteps from behind them. She glanced back and hid her surprise as Clint walked out carrying a briefcase.

He was followed by Dr. Selvig, Agent Smith- the head of security- and a strange man. Maria also watched in confusion as Clint pointed to the waiting emergency vans and said shortly: "Need these vehicles." He handed the case to Dr. Selvig as the older man climbed into the van and the stranger climbed into the back of once of the trucks.

"Who's that?" Maria asked puzzled as she stared at the man, which made Arianna's brow furrow in confusion. If Maria didn't know who that was… "He didn't tell me." Clint replied flatly as he walked around the car towards the driver's side. That made Arianna's brows furrow- he didn't sound like himself at all.

She stayed, watching them while Maria, although still suspicious, turned away. Suddenly, her walkie-talkie beeped and a crackly voice called: "Hill! Do you copy?" Arianna tensed as Maria gripped her comm, and Fury called warningly: "Barton is…"

Arianna jumped forward as Maria ducked when Clint swiftly turned and fired his gun at them. Arianna rolled at him, kicking his legs as Maria rolled for cover, but Clint simply leapt back. Arianna ducked quickly behind a pillar, pulling her own gun out as Clint fired at her.

She fired two shots as she ducked for cover, and heard Agent Smith cry out as he was hit. But there was no cry from Clint, and she heard him clamber into the car. She quickly ran out as the car sped away, jumping onto a motorcycle as Maria opened fire on the escaping vehicle.

Fury called to both Maria and Arianna sharply: "He's got the Tesseract! Track it down!" Arianna took off on the bike while Maria ran for another van. Arianna sped after the escaping car as it swerved around the other evacuating agents' cars.

Luckily, or rather not, the other agents caught on to the fact that something was wrong and began to open fire on Clint's car. The stranger in the back of the van shot something from a staff at one of the cars firing at him, causing it to swerve before it tipped, crashing in front of the other cars and blocking part of the tunnel.

Arianna swiftly drove her bike through the gaps, gaining on the car as she pulled out her gun and began to fire at the car. She hit the side and rear-view mirrors with her accurate shots, but as SHIELD vans, the wheels weren't easy to shoot out. She tried firing four consecutive shots at one of the back wheels, but the stranger seemed to know what she was trying to do and somehow blocked the shots with his strange staff.

 _The Tesseract._ Arianna realized. _That person came through from it, meaning he's not of this world._ She grit her teeth as she tried gaining on the car, but as she did, Clint swerved and she was forced to pull back a little before the car rammed into her. Suddenly another jeep sped past and Arianna spotted Maria as she pulled the handbrake, forcing the jeep to turn in a tight circle so that she rammed against Clint's car from the front.

She fired directly at Clint as he fired back and Arianna pointed her gun form behind, aiming steadily. She fired, hitting Clint's hand and he was forced to drop the gun and retracted his wounded hand. Her moment's triumph was broken as he retaliated by speeding the car and ramming Maria into the side of the tunnel.

Arianna sped past as Maria quickly regained control, coming up behind the younger girl, who continued to fire at the car. The stranger threw an energy blast at her from his staff, but she was quick in dodging it, despite the small space. Unfortunately, she knew they had another problem- the self-destruct mechanism. It would blow up the facility and drop the ceiling on them if they didn't hurry.

Of course, as soon as she thought that, the place exploded. Arianna was forced to sheath her gun as she sped up, knowing that on her bike if she was caught in the debris she would stand no chance at survival. Maria was behind her as the ceiling began to cave behind them. She didn't dare glance behind her but her heart clenched as she heard the distinct sound of screeching tires, indicating that Maria was caught.

Luckily, the debris stopped at that moment too, so hopefully the older agent was alive. Arianna didn't spare more than that thought as she sped after Clint, pulling out her gun again as she fired. The stranger threw more energy blasts at her, but she was able to dodge them with her bike. And then from above, Fury's helicopter appeared, chasing down the car from the air.

It blocked the road, and Arianna saw Clint swerve sharply, moving to the dirt to get around the helicopter. Fury opened the side door and began to fire at the car from the front as Arianna kept up fire from the back. The stranger threw another blast at her, and this time she didn't avoid it in time. Arianna jumped from the bike, tumbling over the ground as the blast hit the bike and it exploded.

The stranger then threw an energy blast at the helicopter, hitting it directly in the side. Arianna ducked quickly as the whirring blades almost took her head off as it came crashing down, and then glanced up to see Fury land heavily on the ground a few feet away. He fired after the retreating car in frustration, but it was too far now, and he gave up pretty quickly as Arianna staggered up to him.

He glanced back at the younger agent as his walkie-talkie crackled and Phil's voice came over urgently: "Director? Director Fury, do you copy?" He answered swiftly: "The Tesseract is with the hostile force. I have men down, but Aria's here safe with me. Hill?"

He checked and Arianna breathed in relief as Maria replied: "A lot of men still under, don't know how many survivors." The Director glanced at Arianna before he ordered grimly: "Sound the general call. I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that brief case."

He kept his eye leveled on Arianna, indicating she was included in that order, and she nodded once in understanding as Maria replied: "Roger that." Fury then ordered: "Coulson, come pick up Aria and get back to base. This is a level seven. As of right now, we are at war."

Arianna's fists curled and she bowed her head, and there was a beat before Phil replied firmly: "What do we do?"


	3. Meet Captain Rogers

_April 30, 2012_

Arianna P.O.V.

Arianna stood on the steps at the SHIELD base, holding her phone impatiently as it rang. Finally, someone answered and a male voice asked: "Ya?" "Luchkov." Arianna said shortly, and the man paused in confusion.

She heard some whispers and then the phone was passed over and Luchkov demanded furiously in Russion: "Who the hell is..." Arianna didn't even wait for him to finish as she said flatly: "You're at 114 Solenski Plaza, 3rd floor. We have an F22 exactly 8 miles out. Put the woman on the phone or I will blow up the block before you can make the lobby."

There was another pause, and then the breathing pattern on the phone changed, indicating the phone had changed owner. "We need you to come in." Arianna ordered firmly, and Nat snapped, annoyed: "Are you kidding? I'm working!"

"This takes precedence." Arianna insisted, and Nat argued: "I'm in the middle of an interrogation, this moron is giving me everything." Arianna rolled her eyes despite the gravity of the situation- she could just imagine Luchkov's expression at that. Nat continued flatly: "Look, you can't pull me out of this right now."

"Nat." Arianna said quietly, taking a deep breath before she said the words she had never ever wanted to say: "Barton's been compromised." There was a moment's silence and then Nat said coldly: "Let me put you on hold."

Arianna waited patiently, listening as the phone was dropped. It was followed by the shouts of men grunting in pain as the Black Widow took care of them, and Arianna sighed. _There couldn't be a better hold tune._ She thought dryly.

Finally after one last cry from Luchkov, Arianna heard the phone being picked up again, and Nat asked quickly: "Where's Barton now?" "We don't know." Arianna admitted, but Nat caught the double message and she checked: "But he's alive." "We think so." Arianna confirmed.

She added, with a wry smile: "Coulson'll brief you on everything when you get back. But first, we need you to talk to the big guy." Nat snorted as she replied: "Ria, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me."

Arianna wrinkled her nose as she said apologetically: "Sorry, Nat. Phil's got Stark. You get the _big_ guy." She emphasized. There was a moment's pause, during which Arianna winced sympathetically, before Nat muttered: "Bozhe moi."

* * *

Steve P.O.V.

Steve stood in the gym as he usually did, punching the heaviest punching bag in the place. It was a small, old place he'd discovered in Brooklyn that was dedicated to WWII veterans. The place was designed to look like a gym from the 1940s, and it helped Steve to feel a little closer to home than he had been for the past year.

SHIELD had found him an apartment back near his old home, and they'd kept their distance ever since besides offering him help in easing back into modern society. He'd refused most of it, besides the necessary financing, which he'd only accepted after Director Fury explained it was originally Steve's anyway.

SHIELD had carefully managed the money Steve originally had, and between his earnings from the war- which Howard Stark and Peggy Carter had carefully managed for him before SHIELD- and the money left to him in Howard's will, he had quite a healthy account to come back to. But all it did was make him remember the late friend, whose life he'd missed out on.

Just one more to add to the ever-growing pile. Steve had so far avoided finding out what had happened to all of his friends from the 40s, too afraid of what he might find. And when it really came down to it, it didn't matter did it? He'd missed their whole lives, their marriages, their happy times, their tough times… he'd missed it all. So what did it matter? Or, that's what he told himself.

Unfortunately, while he could shut down his mind, he couldn't shut down his body. And so, every night he came down to this small gym and channeled all his emotions into the punching bags as he tried to work through the stress and frustration of having woken up in the 21st century. Let's just say it had been a long year.

But the longer he punched, the more it came back to him and the more it hurt. Even tonight, as he punched the heavy bag, he was haunted by the memories. Every resounding hit as his fist hit the bag reminded him of the explosions, the gunshots. Steve closed his eyes as he fought back the pain, but the memories still flooded through his mind.

He remembered raiding the Hydra base, the various battles, and then that final battle. His decision, Red Skull picking up the Tesseract, Peggy's last words, waking up again to find it was all in the distant past. His eyes snapped open and his fist snapped out, sending the punching bag flying across the room, the chain broken.

It burst as it hit the opposite wall, the sand spilling out onto the ground as Steve panted, though whether from exertion or his memories he couldn't be quite sure. He figured it was probably both. With a sigh, he walked back to grab another bag form the pile he had lined up.

He hung it up and took a deep breath before getting into the beginning stance punching at the bag again, slowly building up a rhythm once more, when he was interrupted as a familiar voice called: "Trouble sleeping?"

Steve stopped and looked over towards the entrance to see Nick Fury standing there, watching him casually. Steve turned back to the punching bag as he pointed out: "I slept for seventy years, sir. I think I've had my fill." He slammed his fist into the bag.

Fury walked in slowly as he said casually: "Then you should be out, celebrating, seeing the world." Steve paused, looking back up at the other man. He turned away again, heading to a bench. He began unwrapping his hands as he commented: "I went under, the world was at war, I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost."

He threw the tape into his duffel bag as Fury followed him and replied: "We've made some mistakes along the way. Some very recently." Steve glanced at him, and then back to the doorway as he heard a sound to see a young woman walking in, her face set into an expressionless mask.

She was very beautiful with dark brown hair, currently hanging in loose curls around her face, and sharp hazel eyes. She was dressed casually in a simple shirt and jeans, holding a file in her hands, but Steve could immediately from her stance that she was no PA. She was a fighter, and he'd wager she was a good one.

She walked to stand beside Fury and Steve caught the faintest smell of flowers- lilies if he had to guess. He realized it must be from the woman's perfume and he glanced at the pair curiously, while Fury nodded at the woman as he introduced: "Captain, meet agent Arianna Hart. Hart, you know who this is."

"Pleasure to meet you, Captain." Arianna said firmly as she held out a hand. Steve shook it, somehow unsurprised by the woman's firm handshake, he replied politely: "The pleasure's all mine, ma'am."

She grinned at that, and he blinked a little startled. She looked much younger and more mischievous with a smile. He examined her more closely and as her eyes bore into his, Steve realized that although her expression was cold, her eyes were much warmer.

He wouldn't exactly say it was kind- she was too used to fighting for that. It was more like a fire that was currently burning low but could blaze up in a moment. He'd seen similar eyes in his comrades, and Steve recognized the eyes of someone with spirit tempered by a good heart.

He saw Fury raise a brow, probably noticing his intense scrutiny, and the young woman seemed amused as well. Steve looked away quickly, and he asked as he nodded at the file: "You here with a mission, sir, ma'am?"

Arianna's lips twitched, but Fury's face remained impassive as he replied: "I am." "Trying to get me back in the world?" Steve asked pointedly, and he was surprised- although he really shouldn't have been- when Fury replied shortly: "Trying to save it."

Steve looked up as Arianna opened the file and handed it to him. He took it with a nod of thanks to her, and she just shrugged in response. Steve glanced down to see it was a file on the Tesseract, a picture of the all-too familiar blue cube on the front page.

"Hydra's secret weapon." He murmured. He sat down slowly as he flipped through the papers, and Fury explained: "Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you." Steve glanced up at Fury at that. "He thought what we think, the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs."

Steve closed the file, and asked as he handed it back to Fury: "Who took it from you?" Fury took it back without comment although Arianna raised a brow and she seemed like she was suppressing a smile, although it dropped as Fury replied: "He's called Loki. He's… not from around here."

Steve raised a brow at that, and Fury explained: There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know." Steve scoffed as he stood up again: "At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me."

He started to gather his things, and Fury replied flatly: "Ten bucks says you're wrong." "You might want to rethink that bet, Captain." Arianna chimed in, but Steve shrugged. "I really don't think there's anything more that can surprise me now, ma'am."

Her lips twitched again, but Steve didn't notice as he picked up a punching bag. He threw it over his shoulder while he carried his duffel in his other hand, and Fury called after him: "There's a debriefing package waiting for you back at your apartment."

As the two agents watched the Captain leave, Fury asked: "Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now?" "You should have left it in the ocean." Steve muttered back, not looking back as he left without another word.

* * *

Arianna P.O.V.

As she and Fury watched the Captain leave, Arianna commented: "He's a lot moodier than the reports say he is. But I guess, given his circumstances, that's to be expected." Fury suppressed a grin as he looked over at the younger agent.

"Is that you, or your 'father' talking?" He asked casually as they walked out together, and Arianna grinned. "I'm not fan-girling all over him am I? Or I suppose once Phil gets to him, it'll be fan-boying." Arianna laughed, and Fury chuckled.

"You know, I'm pretty sure Phil's dying a little inside right now because he has to go see Tony while we get to talk with the Captain." Arianna mused, and Fury snorted. "That's why I didn't tell him you were coming with me- I don't want to listen to him complain about how unfair it is."

"I think he wouldn't dare once Nat gets back- she wasn't very happy with her candidate." Arianna pointed out and Fury shrugged. Arianna paused and added curiously: "Why did you choose me to come with you? You could easily have come on your own." She pointed out.

He glanced at her as he replied briskly: "Because I thought you could use something to cheer you up after Barton." Arianna looked at him in surprise and she smiled at him in thanks. Fury added gruffly: "And as for choosing you over Coulson, well, let's just say I didn't want to scare the Cap."

Arianna laughed at that, and then she became thoughtful. "I don't think he wants to be treated specially. Everything I've seen and heard seems to indicate that he'd rather just be doing the right thing than being praised for it." Arianna commented, and Fury replied shortly: "Well, let's hope he'll do the right thing in helping us."

As they climbed into their car, Fury said to Arianna, back to being the SHIELD Director: "Hart, I want you to escort the Captain tomorrow when he arrives at the base. Try to help him feel more at home, and assist him where need be."

"Yes, sir." Arianna replied, but her eyes twinkled and Fury leveled a look at her. "I thought you weren't going to fan-girl?" He questioned and Arianna shrugged. "Too much influence from Phil- don't worry, though, Director, it'll never be as bad as Phil."

"I don't think anyone can be worse than Coulson." Fury pointed out and Arianna laughed as she replied in agreement: "Touché!"

* * *

 _May 1, 2012_

Steve P.O.V.

Early the next morning, Steve found himself flying in a quinjet, and he had to admit he was impressed with the sleek design. He'd been met outside his apartment earlier that day by a man called Agent Coulson, who'd escorted him to the jet, before they took off. Steve wasn't sure why, but the man seemed particularly excited about something, although so far it seemed tempered by a seriousness befitting the situation.

Steve had spent the majority of the flight reviewing the most important aspects of the debriefing packet, when the pilot finally called: "We're about forty minutes out from base, sir." Coulson nodded and then turned to Steve. Steve asked him thoughtfully as he held onto a small screen, which was currently showing him information about the Hulk: "So, this Doctor Banner was trying to replicate the serum that was used on me?"

Coulson nodded as he replied: "A lot of people were. You were the world's first superhero." He nodded at the screen as he explained: "Banner thought gamma radiation might hold the key to unlocking Erskine's original formula."

Steve stared at the green beast that was smashing a jeep to pieces and commented dryly: "Didn't really go his way, did it?" "Not so much." Coulson agreed, and then added lightly: "When he's not that thing though, guy's like a Stephen Hawking."

Steve glanced at him, confused, and Coulson saw the look. He explained: "He's like a… smart person." Steve raised his brows but nodded in understanding, and began to look back down at the screen when Coulson said earnestly: "I gotta say, it's an honor to meet you, officially."

Steve smiled at him in thanks, though he really did not like attention. Coulson added: "I sort of met you, I mean, I watched you while you were sleeping." Steve paused, and he looked down, putting down the tablet as Coulson said awkwardly: "I mean, I was... I was present while you were unconscious from the ice."

Steve moved to stand, peering outside at the ocean as Coulson rambled embarrassedly: "You know, it's really, it's just a... just a huge honor to have you on board." "Well, I hope I'm the man for the job." Steve replied with a small sigh as he gazed out at the wide blue ocean.

"Oh, you are. Absolutely." Coulson assured him. He paused and then added: "Uh... we've made some modifications to the uniform. I had a little design input." He smiled like a child who'd been told Christmas had come early, but Steve was more focused on another detail as he asked puzzled: "The uniform?"

When Coulson nodded, Steve asked hesitantly: "Aren't the stars and stripes a little... old fashioned?" He asked, trying to come up with the right word without downright insulting this man, who was clearly a fan, and technically himself.

Coulson smiled, though it was a little grim as he replied: "With everything that's happening, the things that are about to come to light." He shrugged as he said sincerely: "People might just need a little old fashioned."

Steve looked at the man in surprise before he turned his gaze back to the ocean thoughtfully. There had been a meaningful look Phil's eyes as he'd looked at Steve, and Steve understood the deeper sentiment behind the statement. And while he was still very uneasy, it touched him and made him feel a little more confident as they headed for SHIELD's base.

Soon, he was able to see the base and he was surprised to see what looked like a large ship floating on the ocean. The majority of the top deck was a large landing platform, which was where their quinjet headed. He watched in silent amazement at the sheer size of the base, impressed with what he was seeing.

Once they'd landed, Coulson led the way out as they disembarked, and Steve was surprised when they were met outside by the same woman from last night- agent Arianna Hart. She was dressed in a skin-tight black combat suit, and Steve had to quickly quench the urge to glance down, below her face level. Coulson nodded at her in greeting as he introduced again: "Captain, I'm told you've met Agent Hart."

"Ma'am." He greeted politely, nodding at the young woman. Her lips twitched again as she replied cheerfully: "Hi." She turned to Coulson as she added: "They need you on the bridge. They're starting the face-trace."

"See you there." Coulson murmured and she nodded. He patted her shoulder as he left, and Arianna turned back to Steve. His heart thudded as her piercing hazel eyes met his, but he shrugged it off. She was a beautiful woman, and he was an average guy; nothing more.

"Nice to meet you again, Captain." Arianna said as she indicated they walk, and he replied as she led him down the runway: "The pleasure's mine, ma'am, although I must say I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon."

Arianna's eyes were dancing with amusement as she turned to him with raised brows and told him: "It's Arianna or Agent Hart. 'Ma'am' sounds so… old." She laughed, and Steve's lips tugged into a small smile. "Very well, ma… Agent Hart." He corrected hastily as she shot him a bemused expression.

"Call me Steve." He added and Arianna chuckled. "Alright, Steve, but only if you call me Arianna then. Otherwise it'll be 'Rogers'." She teased and Steve blushed. She looked a little surprised as he murmured embarrassedly: "Alright…Arianna."

She smiled and changed subjects as they walked: "It was quite the buzz around here when we found you in the ice. I was there with Coulson when we went to get you, and I swear I thought he was going to die of happiness right there. Has he asked you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?"

Steve stared at her- surely he'd heard her wrong. "Trading cards?" He asked, and Arianna nodded. She grinned as she explained: "They're vintage, he's very proud." Steve didn't know how to respond to that, and it seemed Arianna could tell. She was looking highly amused at any rate as she patted his arm.

"Relax. Just be yourself, and I'm sure you'll do great." She reassured him with a broad smile, and Steve was startled by just how fast his heart started beating at the contact and that smile. He'd noticed the first time that she looked much younger when she smiled, but she also looked much more innocent, like a sweet girl and not a strong agent.

Arianna didn't notice as her eyes focused on something further down the long runway. "Nat!" She called and Steve looked over to see another beautiful, red-haired woman standing beside a nervous looking man, whom Steve recognized as Dr. Banner.

The redhead had looked up at her name, and her blank, rather cold face became warmer as she walked over to greet the younger woman. Arianna walked over swiftly, and they pair hugged very briefly. Steve saw them whisper very quickly before Arianna turned back to him.

"Captain Rogers, meet Agent Romanoff." "Ma'am." Steve greeted and the redheaded woman raised her brow before she answered lightly: "Hi." Arianna had turned to the man standing somewhat awkwardly away, rubbing his hands nervously as he glanced around the base.

"Dr. Banner I presume?" She asked kindly and he looked startled, but shook the woman's hand. "Agent Hart." She introduced and he murmured: "Nice to meet you." Steve stepped up behind her, holding out his hand as he greeted: "Dr. Banner." The man glanced at him, and recognition lit his features.

"Oh, yeah." He murmured as he shook Steve's hand. "Hi. They told me you'd be coming." He gave him a small smile, still looking extremely nervous. Steve commented lightly: "Word is you can find the cube."

Arianna smiled, while Banner asked with a glance at Agent Romanoff: "Is that the only word on me?" "Only word I care about." Steve told him firmly and Banner looked briefly surprised before he became a little more relaxed.

Both Romanoff and Hart suddenly touched their earpieces, listening to something, while Banner commented as he gestured around them: "Must be strange for you, all of this." Steve shrugged as he admitted: "Well, this is actually kind of familiar."

He nodded at the agents doing drills around the place and the general fighting atmosphere as they were surrounded by powerful jets and small fighter planes. Arianna suddenly chimed in: "Gentlemen, you may want to step inside in a minute."

Romanoff added as she and Arianna both took a casual but firm stance, as though they were expecting the ship to start moving or swaying. Steve and Dr. Banner glanced up as there was the distinct sound a motor starting and parts of the ship clanking as it moved.

A voice called over the loudspeakers: "Secure the deck." Steve asked in disbelief as he and Dr. Banner looked around with wide eyes: "Is this is a submarine?" Dr. Banner scoffed as the two men walked to the edge of the ship: "Really? They wanted me in a submerged pressurized metal container?"

The men peered over the side of the ship, not noticing as the two women exchanged amused glances. Steve stared as he saw a large motor starting to rise out of the sea. A large wheeled motor. And he realized they were flight engines as the turbines whirred and the whole base began to lift off.

Banner commented, half amused and half horrified: "Oh, no. This is much worse." Steve couldn't answer, staring in shock. Arianna walked up behind him and he jumped as she murmured lightly: "See, I told you, you didn't want to make that bet."

He glanced at her amazed, and then around the flight deck to see pilots strapping the various jets and planes into place to prevent them from moving as the helicarrier lifted them higher into the sky.


	4. Germany

Steve continued to look around the base in awe as the two women led him and Dr. Banner onto the bridge. Arianna kept glancing back at him, looking amused. Both Steve and Dr. Banner paused at the entrance, staring around while Natasha walked on ahead. Arianna paused beside Steve, although she gave him plenty of space as he gazed about.

Steve had to admire the place as he looked around with wide-eyes. The whole floor was lined with high-tech computers and each computer was manned by an agent, all of them searching urgently for the missing Tesseract and Loki.

While Steve wandered around the bridge, Dr. Banner kept his distance, sticking to the outskirts of the room. Arianna glanced at him a few times, but her orders were with the Captain so she settled for just sending a few kind smiles at the shy, anxious scientist whenever they accidentally met eyes. He seemed unsure how to respond, but gave a small smile in return each time.

Arianna walked up to Steve as he walked over to the huge windows at the front of the room. "Impressive, isn't it." She asked, and he nodded, mouth still wide with wonder. "I've never seen anything like this." He murmured and Arianna chuckled.

"It gets better." She told him and he looked at her questioningly. She just nodded outside at the engines, and he looked at them curiously as they heard Maria call: "We're at lock, sir." And then Fury's order: "Good. Let's vanish."

Steve watched with wide eyes as every inch of the ship's surface switched to reflecting panels, making the ship invisible to the naked eye. Arianna smiled at his blatant amazement, and she then nodded towards the conference table that was set up in the far corner of the bridge.

He walked over, still looking around in amazement. Dr. Banner was already there, and Fury joined them at the table as he called: "Gentlemen." Steve wordlessly reached into his pocket, withdrawing a tenner. He handed it to Fury, who smirked amusedly, and Arianna chuckled while Steve continued to stare around curiously.

Arianna then snorted as she saw Maria glance up as Steve walked over, giving him a quick once over. The older agent heard her and raised her brows as Arianna paused beside her. "Don't even try telling me you didn't look as well." Maria said lightly and Arianna replied teasingly: "I never said I didn't."

Steve joined them again, asking Arianna curiously: "So, we're invisible to the eye, but are we invisible to radar, too?" Arianna nodded, leading him back to the others as she explained: "We have signal jammers and beacons. Basically if anyone tries to find us, they'll find their scanners aren't working. It's not perfect, but it works against most things and we're equipped to deal with anything else."

He nodded, and they caught the end of Fury's conversation with Dr. Banner as the scientist asked: "Where are you with that?" Fury nodded over at Coulson, who stood on the floor with the searching agents. Coulson explained: "We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet. Cellphones, laptops."

Arianna saw Nat pause by one of the agents' computers and her heart sank as she saw Clint's face on it. They'd exchanged brief words outside and neither woman was happy with the lack of progress on the case. Coulson finished: "If it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us."

Nat looked up and she pointed out: "That's still not gonna find them in time." Arianna couldn't help but nod in agreement, but looked over as Dr. Banner commented: "You have to narrow the field. How many spectrometers do you have access to?" He asked Fury, who replied coolly: "How many are there?"

"Call every lab you know," Banner told them as he removed his jacket and got ready to work, "tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays. I'll rough out a tracking algorithm based on cluster recognition."

Arianna raised her brow, impressed, as Banner told Fury: "At least we could rule out a few places." He paused, and glanced around, asking: "Do you have somewhere for me to work?"

Arianna grinned, while Fury called: "Agent Romanoff, would you show Dr. Banner to his laboratory, please." Nat nodded and walked over, leading the way out. She commented as Banner followed her: "You're going to love it, Doc. We've got all the toys. Arianna goes crazy every time she's allowed in."

Both Steve and Banner glanced at Arianna in surprise, and she just looked back at them innocently. "Don't be fooled by her face." Nat called, not even looking back as she walked down the hall, and Arianna laughed, shouting after her: "You're one to talk, Natasha!"

Fury snorted, unable to help himself. Steve chuckled while Maria cleared her throat, trying to hide her smile.

* * *

A few hours later, they were still searching. Arianna had moved to one of the computers, having become anxious more about Clint. Nat, after returning from escorting Dr. Banner, joined her as they watched the small progress being made. But both of them knew it was only to be expected- Clint was one of their best field agents, and they knew that if he didn't want to be found it would be almost impossible to track him down.

Finally, Arianna looked away, disappointed and then snorted. Nat glanced up and Arianna nodded to one side of the room. Phil was standing beside Steve, and from Steve's somewhat awkward expression, a stark contrast to Phil's enthusiastic one, it was clear Phil was asking him to sign his cards.

Steve's eye caught Arianna's and when she grinned at him, he grimaced a little. She laughed, and he shook his head slightly at her even as a small grin tugged at his lips. Nat's brows raised, but they were all distracted as Agent Sitwell called sharply: "We got a hit. Sixty-seven percent match. Weight, cross match, seventy-nine percent."

Nat and Arianna tensed as Phil walked over quickly, asking: "Location?" Sitwell replied: "Stuttgart, Germany. 28, Konigstrasse. He's not exactly hiding." He pointed out as they received an exact matching photo of Loki dressed in a smart suit for the museum's gala event.

"Captain." Fury called and Steve looked over. "You're up." Steve nodded once, his face becoming serious and focused as he walked out. Arianna followed him and she explained as he glanced at her: "I'll show you to where your uniform is."

He blinked in surprise, but nodded and she led him to the special locker rooms that Fury had prepared for the potential Avengers. She opened the door to the men's room and told Steve lightly: "It'll be hanging up for you in locker seven. Trust me, it'll be hard to miss."

He nodded tightly, looking extremely tense so Arianna teased lightly: "Your suit awaits you, Captain." He cracked a grin but it disappeared quickly as he strode into the changing rooms, completely focused.

Arianna could appreciate that, and she smiled as she closed the door after him. She could appreciate it, but she had a sneaking suspicion Tony wouldn't. She briefly wondered what would happen if, or at this point when, they met but shrugged it off.

It was well known at SHIELD that Howard Stark thought highly of Steve Rogers and that they had been close friends. While Tony and Steve were very different, Arianna reasoned: what was the worst that could happen when Howard's son met Steve?

Boy was she going to regret thinking that later, when she remembered it.

* * *

Arianna stood waiting for Steve at the quinjet. Natasha soon joined her, also dressed and ready for combat, if necessary. After a moment, Arianna pointed out quietly: "Where Loki is, Clint can't be too far away."

Nat nodded, sighing in frustration as she muttered: "I know, but we have our orders. Technically, it makes sense since if we can get Loki then we can free Clint, but…" "But, I'd rather bring him back safe myself." Arianna murmured, nodding in agreement.

Nat sighed as she muttered: "I'll be happy when this whole mess is over. I can't believe this was what you and Clint were working on for all those months. No wonder you sounded agitated whenever we talked over the phone; I should've guessed it, you two hate security details."

"Don't make it sound like you do." Arianna pointed out and Nat grinned a little as she replied: "Shut it, Ria." They then spotted Steve walking towards them- well, he was a little hard to miss in the blue, red, and white uniform, complete with the shield. Both women could only imagine Coulson's reaction when he saw this.

"Wanna bet Phil faints?" Nat asked in a low voice, and Arianna replied just as quietly: "I bet he proposes on the spot." They cracked grins as Steve walked up and he looked at them curiously. "What?" He asked but both women just grinned.

Arianna's eyes were shining with amusement as Nat just said lightly: "Come on, Cap. Let's go." She walked onto the quinjet and Steve looked at Arianna. "Just making some jokes at Phil's expense. Trying to loosen some tension." She explained to him and he nodded.

"Let's move out." He said firmly and she smiled. "Yes sir, Captain." She said in a mix of amusement and slight admiration. He glanced at her in surprise once more but she was already boarding the jet and he simply followed without comment.

Steve was surprised once more when Natasha and Arianna took the pilot seats, particularly when it was Arianna who took them off. But again, he didn't comment and the ride to Germany was silent, the atmosphere becoming tense as they prepared to face off against a Norse God.

"There." Arianna said at last, and Steve leaned over her shoulder to look out the windshield. There, standing outside the museum, was Loki now dressed in his golden Norse armor and helmet as he stood in front of the kneeling crowd. Except, not all of them were kneeling.

Arianna's grip on the wheel tightened as they saw the old man who bravely dared to stand up against the God. They could hear the conversation through the jet's sensor systems and they heard Loki scoff: "There are no men like me."

"There are always men like you." The courageous old man replied, and while Arianna his nerve, she was extremely worried for the man's safety. Steve was feeling the same as he urged: "Arianna, hurry."

She nodded once as Loki called: "Look to your elder, people." Arianna said tightly: "Steve, get ready to drop." He moved to the back of the quinjet as Loki finished menacingly: "Let him be an example." Arianna opened the hatch as she shot by overhead the crowd, and just as Loki fired on the old man.

Steve landed right in front of the brave man, his shield raised and he deflected the blast so that it hit Loki, knocking the God off his feet. Arianna swung the jet around and Nat gripped the jet's gun stick, as they heard Steve say to Loki: "You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing."

"The soldier." Loki spat. He stood up again slowly as he added scornfully: "A man out of time." "I'm not the one who's out of time." Steve replied in a steely voice and that was when Arianna flew the jet back so that it hovered just behind Steve, the jet's gun pointed at Loki.

Nat had a firm grip on the gunner as she called through the speaker system: "Loki, drop the weapon and stand down." He fired on them with his staff, but Arianna had been expecting it. She swerved them out of the way, at the same moment that Steve threw his shield at Loki.

It hit the God, hard, but he didn't move. The two began to fight as the civilians quickly fled the scene, and their swift movements were making it hard for Nat to get a clear shot on the God. Arianna gripped the wheel of the jet as they watched; to be honest, it wasn't looking too good for Steve.

The super soldier was holding his ground against the God, but his attacks were causing very little damage whereas whenever Loki managed to get a direct hit on him, Steve went flying. Arianna's eyes narrowed as at one moment, Steve went crashing to the ground and Loki whacked the bottom of his staff on Steve's head, snarling: "Kneel."

Nat's grip on the gunner tightened, both women wondering if they should risk shooting, but then Steve retorted: "Not today." before smacking the staff away and kicking the God back a few paces. Nat watched with narrowed eyes and she muttered: "The guy's all over the place."

Suddenly, someone said in their earpieces: "Agent Romanoff," Arianna grinned as she recognized the voice, "did you miss me?" The jet's control panel showed a warning: 'PA system override' as AC/DC's 'Shoot to thrill' blasted over their speakers.

Nat's face became irritated and she breathed a sigh while Arianna laughed. Tony heard her and said amusedly: "Oh, Ria. Hi." With that, he appeared above their heads as Iron Man came flying down from the sky, shooting two blasts at Loki and knocking the God off his feet.

Tony landed with a loud thud, and then the suit unlocked all its weapons, pointing various guns and small missiles at Loki. Tony lifted his hands and the suit's palms glowed with blast energy, ready to fire, as he said calmly: "Make your move, Reindeer Games."

Steve joined Tony, standing at his side and Loki glanced between the men and the quinjet hovering behind, before he powered down, his armor disappearing, as he slowly raised his hands in surrender. The guns on Tony's suit folded away as he commented: "Good move."

* * *

Once the God was on board and his scepter confiscated, Arianna took them off while Tony and Steve keeping a sharp eye on him. Tony walked over, greeting cheerily: "Hey, Ria. How are you kid?" She grinned at him slightly although she didn't take her eyes off the skies as she flew them at top speed back to base.

"Good, as always, Tony." Arianna replied lightly through the tension that was building in the jet. Loki's presence had placed both agents and Steve on edge, and while Tony was acting like he couldn't care less Arianna could see he was careful enough about what he said in front of the God.

Fury called as they reached about the halfway mark back: "Said anything?" "Not a word." Nat replied, and Tony walked back to stand opposite Steve, the two men standing right behind the women in the cockpit while the cuffed God sat in the far corner of the jet. Fury told them: "Just get him here. We're low on time."

Steve finally muttered: "I don't like it." "What? Rock of Ages giving up so easily?" Tony replied, sounding somewhat tense and annoyed. Arianna glanced at him briefly, but Steve was already replying: "I don't remember it being ever that easy. This guy packs a wallop."

He glanced at Loki, while Tony replied nonchalantly: "Still, you are pretty spry, for an older fellow." He looked at Steve, who glanced at him warily as he detected the slight malicious edge in Tony's voice. Tony asked mockingly: "What's your thing? Pilates?"

"Tony." Arianna warned as Steve frowned and asked confusedly: "What?" Tony ignored Arianna, keeping his eyes trained on Steve as he replied, tauntingly: "It's like calisthenics. You might have missed a couple things, you know, doing time as a Capsicle."

Arianna's grip tightened on the wheel as there was a pause before Steve said flatly: "Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in." "Yeah," Tony retorted, "there's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you." He looked at Steve pointedly once more, and Steve's eyes narrowed.

"Tony, knock it off." Arianna ordered. She couldn't see the men, but the tension between the two was so thick you could cut it with a blunt knife… not that Arianna owned any blunt knives.

She glanced up as there was a sudden bolt of lighting and thunder rumbled in the distance. "Where's this coming from?" Nat wondered as the jet began to shake a little from the abrupt thunderstorm. Arianna frowned as she had an immensely bad feeling about all this.

Steve noticed Loki looking intently out of the window and he asked tightly: "What's the matter? Scared of a little lightning? "I'm not overly fond of what follows." Loki replied flatly, and Arianna glanced back. The jet jerked suddenly, shuddering as something hit the roof.

The others braced themselves quickly as Arianna called sharply: "Hold on, we have a hit. I'm gonna try to shake it off." She swerved the jet sharply, making everyone else stumble a little. Whatever was on the roof also slid in the opposite direction but it didn't fall.

"Damn." Arianna muttered as pulled another sudden swerve, this time sending Tony and Steve tumbling, but still their attacker held on. "What the hell?" Arianna muttered as Nat snapped: "That's what I want to ask you."

As the two men behind them got back to their feet, Arianna gripped the wheel again. Nat saw and warned: "Don't even try it." The younger woman hesitated and then both of them turned sharply as they heard the distinct sound of the ramp being lowered, and Steve called in alarm: "What are you doing?"

"Tony!" Arianna cried, aggravated, as she watched said man walking calmly to the ramp from the control panel. He had clearly been the one to open it, opting to face their attacker directly. Arianna was forced to focus on the front again as they narrowly missed being hit by a lightning bolt.

She heard a metallic whack, and glanced back to see Tony coming crashing down right behind her, while Loki disappeared in a whirl of blond hair and red cape. A very familiar red cape. She groaned- she should've realized when she saw the lightning. She just hadn't expected him to be able to come back to Earth.

"Now there's that guy." Tony muttered with a sigh as he got up, and Nat asked: "Another Asgardian?" "That was Thor." Arianna replied grimly, and Steve asked as he also got up: "Think the guy's a friendly?"

"Doesn't matter." Tony pointed out. "If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost." He made his way to jump out of the jet, and Steve called after him urgently: "Stark, we need a plan of attack!" Arianna almost snorted; like that was going to work on Tony.

Sure enough Tony replied shortly: "I have a plan. Attack." He jumped out of the jet and Arianna sighed. Nat was looking back, and she called as she watched Steve grab a parachute: "I'd sit this one out, Cap."

"I don't see how I can." Steve replied shortly, and Arianna warned concernedly: "These aren't your average enemies." Nat added: "These guys come from legends, they're basically gods."

"There's only one God, ma'am." Steve replied. "And I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that." Arianna glanced back just in time to see Steve jump out of the jet, and she sighed. "Men." Arianna muttered, and Nat commented: "Tell me about it."

She glanced at the younger agent as she added firmly: "We are going to stay here." Arianna nodded, although she landed the quinjet fairly quickly when Tony smacked into Thor, leaving Loki unguarded as the two, later joined by Steve, fought in the woods. She quickly locked the jet down as Nat jumped out and stood over Loki, keeping her gun trained on the God.

Arianna soon joined her, and each woman stood with a gun pointed firmly at Loki's head, standing guard as the three watched the other three fight. But Arianna frowned as she noted Loki wasn't even making any attempt to escape, and she noticed he seemed to be enjoying the show, standing casually between her and Nat as he watched the action down below.

The fight finally ended with Thor smashing his hammer down on Steve's shield, knocking the three men down and blowing out an entire section of the forest. Arianna's grip on her gun tightened as she stared at the destruction the three men had left behind.

They slowly made their way back up towards Loki and the jet. Thor grabbed his brother, taking over guard duty as the two agents lowered their guns. While Natasha escorted the Gods inside the jet, Arianna glared at the remaining two men.

"I hope you're proud of yourselves." She snapped before turning on her heel and walking into the jet. Tony and Steve winced as Arianna clambered into the pilot's seat without a backward glance, leaving the two men to glare at one another before they all took a seat in the jet.


	5. God of Mischief

_Early hours of May 2, 2012_

The ride back was silent, most of them too tense to say anything, although Steve and Tony threw the occasional nervous glance at Arianna. Tony knew she could have a temper and her wrath was not something he wanted to be on the receiving end of.

Steve however, had no idea and had been surprised by her anger, particularly the strong aura she gave off when she was furious. He had never been very good with women, and he certainly had no idea how to deal to an angry one. But considering his small experience with Peggy and taking into account that Arianna was apparently a highly accomplished agent, Steve decided he'd better not get on her bad side.

When they landed, there was an entire squadron ready to escort Loki to his cell. Nat led Thor and Steve on ahead to the briefing room on the bridge while Arianna cut the engines and locked the quinjet down. Tony stayed behind to give his suit a quick patch job, and to talk with Arianna.

"Sorry." He began as he worked the dent out of the suit's arm, and Arianna glanced up from where she'd been strapping down the jet. "I know, it was reckless, but you know how I am."

He shrugged and Arianna sighed. She knew it was the best she was going to get, and quite frankly, it was more than anyone, except Pepper Potts, got. So she just replied, letting her face soften: "Fine. Apology accepted. But try not to cause more trouble. Things are grim enough without you blowing something up."

She teased and he grinned as he promised: "Hey, I'll try, but you know it's not my fault if those guys can't take a good joke."

"I don't mean a good joke, Tony, I mean Banner." Arianna said, becoming very serious very quickly as she gave Tony a firm stare. "I need to find Clint, and he's our best guy. Try not to set him off."

Tony sighed and pulled a face but he raised his hand, as though he was taking an oath, as he promised her: "I won't push him more than I think it takes." "And that's all I ask. You know that." Arianna reminded him as she finished with the last buckle.

Tony replied lightly as he finished his work on his suit: "And it's why I like you kid. You know that." He mocked and she chuckled a little as they walked off, Tony heading to place his suit in the locker rooms safely while Arianna headed on to the briefing room.

Her face quickly became grim as she heard Fury start to speak to Loki over their earpieces: "In case it's unclear. You try to escape. You so much as scratch that glass." There was the sound of air rushing loudly, and Fury shouted above the noise it made: "Thirty thousand feet, straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works?"

The noise stopped abruptly, and Arianna quickened her pace towards where the others were. She heard Fury say: "Ant. Boot." She frowned- what did that mean?- but shrugged it off as Loki began to speak. "It's an impressive cage. Not built, I think, for me." Loki commented slyly.

"Built for something a lot stronger than you." Fury retorted, and Loki replied lightly: "Oh, I've heard."

Arianna walked into the conference just in time to see Loki look directly at the camera in his holding cell, making it look like he was speaking directly to the team as they watched him say on screen: "The mindless beast, makes play he's still a man."

Banner shifted uncomfortably from where he stood at one side of the room. Loki went on: "How desperate are you, that you call upon such lost creatures to defend you?" Thor was standing with his back to the conference table, looking thoughtful, as Fury repeated: "How desperate am I?"

Nat glanced up as Arianna walked around, but refocused on Fury as he continued: "You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control." Arianna sat beside Steve, opposite Nat at the table. She watched the screen as Fury spat: "You talk about peace and you kill `cause it's fun."

Fury stood right before the God as he said pointedly: "You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did." "Ooh." Loki taunted, his eyes boring into Fury's.

He smirked as he mocked: "It burns you to come so close. To have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power. And for what?" Loki scoffed, and turned back to look at the camera as he scorned: "A warm light for all mankind to share, and then to be reminded what real power is."

He turned back to glare at Fury who replied simply: "Well, you let me know if Real Power wants a magazine or something."

Fury left, but Arianna watched with narrowed eyes as Loki turned his head and smirked directly at the camera… directly at the Avengers team.

The screen turned off, and Banner said sarcastically: "He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Arianna grimaced while Steve pointed out: "Loki's gonna drag this out. So, Thor," he called out to the Norse God, "what's his play?"

Thor replied slowly as he turned to them: "He has an army called the Chitauri. They're not of Asgard or any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the earth. In return, I suspect, for the Tesseract."

"An army." Steve said, sounding skeptical. "From outer space?" He looked at the two agents at the table, and Nat just lowered her eyes irritably while Arianna nodded. Maria Hill joined them, standing by the outskirts as Banner said thoughtfully: "So he's building another portal. That's what he needs Erik Selvig for."

"Selvig?" Thor asked, picking up on the name, and Banner explained: "He's an astrophysicist." "He's a friend." Thor replied shortly, and Arianna said quietly: "We know. I'm sorry I couldn't protect him for you."

He glanced at her, and he seemed to be sizing her up and he said thoughtfully: "Have we met?" Arianna shook her head as she explained: "Not officially, no. I was one of the guards around your hammer back in New Mexico two years ago. It's probably where you saw me before."

Steve glanced at her in surprise, but Thor nodded. Nat chimed in: "Loki has Selvig under some kind of spell, along with one of ours." Her eyes met Arianna's and the two shared a brief look of worry. Apparently, Clint had been at the museum, stealing Iridium while they fought Loki, and it killed them both inside to know they'd missed him again.

Steve interjected: "I wanna know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here." He pointed out, and Banner disagreed: "I don't think we should be focusing on Loki. That guy's brain is a bag full of cats, you could smell crazy on him."

"Have care how you speak." Thor interrupted sharply. He leveled a look at Banner as he told them firmly: "Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he's my brother."

Arianna, while somewhat moved by his continued love for his estranged brother, couldn't help raising her brows. Nat agreed with her as she pointed out to Thor flatly: "He killed eighty people in two days." Thor paused and then tacked on in a mutter: "He's adopted."

"I think it's about the mechanics." Banner interjected, bringing them back to the subject at hand. He asked pointedly: "Iridium, what did they need the Iridium for?" "It's a stabilizing agent." Arianna said at the same time Tony did as he finally walked into the room with Phil.

Tony added something to Phil in an undertone, before he continued: "Means the portal won't collapse on itself, like it did at SHIELD." He looked at Arianna as he added pointedly: "Really, Ria, I would've expected you to know that. It took them stealing it for you to finally realize?"

"Shut up, Stark." Arianna returned, and he grinned at her. He then added to Thor as he walked up to the table: "No hard feelings, Point Break. You've got a mean swing." He tapped Thor's arm, and the God watched him in confusion, but Tony just continued, returning his attention back to the topic: "Also, it means the portal can open as wide, and stay open as long, as Loki wants."

He walked onto the bridge control center, where Fury usually stood, and suddenly said abruptly: "Uh, raise the mid-mast, ship the top sails."

They all stared at him like he was a lunatic- which he sometimes was- but Tony just pointed to the side as he said loudly: "That man is playing GALAGA!" Steve looked confused and turned to look but the agents were busy watching Tony, Maria and Nat unimpressed and Arianna with raised brows. Tony went on: "Thought we wouldn't notice. But we did."

He then looked at the various screens on the control center and covered his eyes with one hand as he asked skeptically: "How does Fury do this?" "He turns." Maria said shortly, and Tony muttered: "Well, that sounds exhausting."

"Only because you hate turning your head; it's why you invented your touch holograms. Now focus, Tony, iridium." Arianna said pointed and he turned to wink at her before he turned back to the screens on the console.

"The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily." Tony explained as he messed around with the screens like a child. "Only major component he still needs is a power source. A high energy density," he turned back to them as he finished, "something to kick start the cube."

"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Maria asked scathingly, and Tony replied lightly: "Last night."

At their odd looks, he went on: "The packet, Selvig's notes, the Extraction Theory papers. Am I the only one who did the reading?" He demanded as he returned to the table.

"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Steve asked, and Banner said thoughtfully: "He's got to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier." "Unless, Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect." Tony pointed out and Arianna frowned thoughtfully.

Banner returned: "Well, if he could do that he could achieve Heavy Ion Fusion at any reactor on the planet." "Finally, someone who speaks English." Tony said delightedly, beaming and winking at Arianna.

"Is that what just happened?" Steve asked and Arianna grinned, patting his arm comfortingly. Tony ignored the Captain as he continued, walking over to Banner: "I thought Arianna was the only one. It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner."

He shook the other scientist's hand warmly as he added: "You're work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster."

Arianna rolled her eyes while Banner looked uncomfortable at that, although he muttered: "Thanks." Fury interjected as he walked into the room: "Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping you might join him."

Steve added, glad they were back in familiar territory for him: "Let's start with that stick of his. It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon." He commented pointedly, but Fury replied: "I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube." He nodded at Steve.

He then addressed the room, although it was mostly directed at Thor as he asked pointedly: "And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys."

"Monkeys? I do not understand." Thor said, sounding confused, when Steve piped up: "I do!" He looked so excited that Arianna had to hide her smile, although she saw Tony made no attempt to hide his exasperated eye roll. Steve saw and he looked a little sheepish as he said: "I understood that reference."

"Shall we play, doctor?" Tony asked Banner, and the scientist looked happy to have a comrade as he nodded and replied: "Let's play some."

As they walked out, Tony called over his shoulder: "Ria, you coming?" Fury looked annoyed, but Arianna called back: "I'll join you later."

Once they were gone, Fury turned to his agents. "Romanoff, I want you to see what you can get out of the prisoner. Hart, I want you to run that new algorithm on finding Barton and then join Stark in the labs." The pair nodded, and moved off, Natasha walking out while Arianna walked over to one of the computers.

Steve and Thor hung around uncertainly, Steve pacing around by Arianna's desk as he naturally gravitated to one of the few faces he recognized in the room. But after a while, Steve disappeared out of the bridge, probably to get away from Phil's constant admiration.

Some time later, Arianna was finished and she made to leave but paused. She glanced at Thor and pulled up the file on Jane Foster, beckoning to Phil and showing it to him. He saw it as Arianna whispered: "Maybe ease his mind a little." She nodded at Thor, and Phil nodded in response as he caught on.

"Consider it done." He smiled and Arianna grinned. Just as she was about to leave, Phil added in an undertone: "I'm proud of you, Ria. I'm glad that through everything you managed to keep that heart Clint and I saw in you the first night we met."

Arianna turned to look at Phil in surprise but he didn't turn to look at her, just smiling gently. She beamed softly, and then impulsively hugged him, startling the older agent. "Thanks, Phil." Arianna murmured before she let go and walked quickly out of the bridge.

She was almost at the lab when Steve stormed out, looking incredibly annoyed. "Steve?" Arianna asked in surprise, choosing to follow him as he strode down the corridor. "What's wrong?"

"Stark." He bit out through grit teeth and Arianna sighed.

"Look, Tony can be annoying, I'll be the first to admit, but he means well… usually." She tried but Steve replied grimly: "No, him being annoying I can handle." She raised her brows at him, and he amended: "I can try to ignore. But what gets me is that he's right."

"'Right'? Right about what?" Arianna asked, bewildered and Steve glanced at her. He seemed to be thinking deeply before he asked abruptly: "You said earlier you were sorry you couldn't protect Selvig. What did that mean?"

Arianna was surprised as she replied confused: "I was there at the facility when Loki arrived. I was guarding the Tesseract with Agent Barton, but when the attack came I wasn't there. I was working in the garage, helping evacuate some equipment. Agent Barton, Loki, and Selvig walked past me, and I didn't stop the danger in time. They got away right before my eyes." She finished a tad bitterly.

She waited, but Steve seemed to be mulling her words over and she frowned. "What does that have to do with Tony?" She asked, and Steve finally replied: "You said you were guarding the Tesseract. Was SHIELD doing anything with it?"

She frowned, wondering what was with his line of questioning, as she answered warningly: "You know, I'm technically not supposed to tell you. I'll only tell you because you're Captain America." She paused and then admitted: "To tell you the truth, I don't really know. Selvig was monitoring it and I helped run the analysis, but what SHIELD did with that information wasn't my division."

"And you didn't question it?" Steve asked and Arianna raised a brow at him.

"I work in a spy organization with fellow spies. We all know nothing here gets done without some secret going on, but we know better than to ask. It's the only way we can function- you can trust each other to some degree because no-one has all the information besides Director Fury."

Steve glanced at her, and he said flatly: "It doesn't make it right." "There is no right when it comes to spies, Captain." Arianna pointed out just as flatly. "It's the best option we have amongst the grey between right and wrong. That's all it is."

He stopped by a door leading down to the secure storage room, glancing around warily.

"Steve." Arianna said slowly. "Please tell me you're not doing what I think you're doing." He ignored her as he began to heave the door.

"Steve!" Arianna hissed, and he grunted back: "I told you, Stark's annoying but he's right. Why didn't Fury call us sooner? Why not call Stark if this was really just about clean energy? There's something that doesn't quite ring true here. And I'm going to find out what it is."

He glanced at her as he said dryly: "Now, you have three options, ma'am." Her eyes narrowed irritably, but he just said pointedly: "One, you can do what's the 'best option amongst the gray' and tell Fury what I'm doing. Two, you can do what others like to do, and walk away."

Arianna's eyes blazed with anger, but Steve bore his blue eyes into her hazel ones as he finished: "Three, you can stop standing there looking pretty and help me." Her lips pressed into a thin line as he asked her firmly: "What's it going to be?"

She stared at him wordlessly, before she muttered: "This is at least a level 8, if not 9. My security card won't work, but I can try help you lift it." He smiled grimly as she took her place beside him and began to heave. They shoved the door off of its hinges and Arianna sighed as Steve slowly peered inside.

"If I lose my job because of this, I'll kick your ass." She told him and Steve replied lightly: "When you get a promotion for doing the right thing, you can thank me later." "We don't get promotions for doing the right thing. Spy organization." She reminded him as they slowly made their way down the storage room.

They glanced around, and then Arianna frowned as she looked up at the level above them. "Those crates…" She muttered and Steve glanced up at the metal crates above them. He asked quietly: "Is that the equipment you were moving last night?"

She nodded slowly, her shoulders tensing as she murmured back: "It doesn't make sense… what was so important it had to be moved in an evac only for it to be stored again here?" "Let's find out." Steve replied grimly as he jumped up to grab the railings and hauled himself onto the top catwalk.

He glanced down at her as Arianna stared. "Coming?" He asked and she muttered obscenities under her breath. He raised his brow as she took a short running start before jumping onto the highest storage boxes on the bottom level. He reached down and helped her, pulling her up as she muttered: "Stupid super soldier serum."

"Glad to see someone appreciates its not all good." He commented a little teasingly and she glanced at him seriously. "It was good- or rather you made it good. I've read all your reports and heard all the stories, Steve. You saved many lives." She said quietly and he paused.

"Not all of them." He muttered, trying to hide the pain as he remembered the nightmares that haunted him. But he blinked in surprise when Arianna said simply: "No, not all of them. But a great many more than most." She walked on, heading for the crates they'd spotted from below as Steve followed, still looking a little shocked.

"Why do you know the stories so well?" Steve asked her curiously as they stopped by the box and Arianna glanced at him quickly before she admitted: "Coulson's like a father to me. He- with Nat and Clint- basically raised me when I first joined here, and made me who I am today. He never shuts up about you- you're his hero."

Steve asked her, out of curiosity and not vanity: "And do you agree with him?" She appraised him and then nodded at the crates before them. "Phil's the finest man I've ever met." She told Steve without looking at him. "And I've never known him to throw out judgments lightly. That means that the man who he respects more than any other, to me, is one who deserves that respect."

Steve blinked in surprise once more, taken aback by her free admittance. She glanced at him and grinned wryly at the shock on his face. "Don't let it go to your head, though. I don't think anyone who's spent as much time with Phil as I have would be able to see you in a bad light. He's obsessed, that's what he is." She teased and Steve snorted.

"Right." He muttered, but before they began grabbing one of the crates he added to Arianna quietly: "Thank you." She grinned and just nodded, and then they grabbed the top crate and hauled it down. Steve gripped the lid and wrenched it open. He stopped in horror as Arianna's eyes widened, her face blanking as it was trained to react when shocked.

There, in the box, was a collection of HYDRA weapons.


	6. Trap

Steve turned on Arianna sharply as he demanded: "Did you know about this?" Her eyes went cold and he suddenly found himself looking at a very different woman from the one he'd seen so far. This was the face of Aria, a cold and emotionless killer. Even her air had changed, the fire turning to ice and her eyes steely.

The change only made Steve angrier as he saw full proof of how deeply SHIELD's training was ingrained in its agents. He was furious as he wondered just how much of this woman's words he could trust; he had never felt so alone on a 'team' before. His heart ached for his old team where he knew they had each others' backs. This group, this so-called team SHIELD had put together… he couldn't trust. Because he had the distinct feeling that they could easily stab him in the back when his guard was down.

Arianna meanwhile was furious, both with the situation she found herself in and with Steve's accusation. She had opened herself up to him because she'd felt she could trust Phil's hero, and he'd accused her the second he'd gotten angry. _He's no different from the others._ She thought bitterly. _They say 'trust' but no-one trusts a spy. We'll always be the first to be blamed… and I can't even blame them._

Arianna tried to keep her anger in check as she said slowly and distinctly: "No. Because if I did, one, I wouldn't be here, I'd be demanding Fury explain what he's planning, and two, I would never have brought you here." "So, you show your true colors. Your true loyalties." Steve scoffed scornfully.

His eyes were blazing like blue fires as he spat: "All that talk, and in the end it's never about the right thing. You'll just follow Fury's orders without question… like a machine."

Her eyes flickered, changing to pure anger, before the shutter was pulled down again and it was cold indifference. This only agitated Steve further, and he barely heard her as she snarled: "You don't know Fury like I do. He's not completely cold and calculating, and until I've spoken to him directly I choose to reserve my judgment on the precious few people in this world that I _trust_."

She spat the word but Steve remained unmoved as he picked up one of the guns and strode off. Arianna clenched her fists, willing herself to stay collected despite her deep anger, and let her SHIELD training kick in. She calmed down and followed Steve, as he strode back towards the lab. She could hear Fury inside the lab, which confused her briefly, until Tony asked: "What is Phase 2?"

Steve walked in, dumping the HYDRA gun on a nearby table as he snapped coldly: "Phase 2 is SHIELD uses the cube to make weapons." He addressed Tony as Arianna walked in after him: "Sorry, the computer was moving a little slow." Tony's eyes narrowed at Arianna, who saw his screen showing top secret SHIELD files.

 _So, he hacked the security systems._ Arianna realized and if this had been any other situation she would've sighed and shaken her head at him amusedly. Unfortunately, she was feeling far from amused as Fury said to Steve, trying to placate the furious soldier: "Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract. This does not mean that we're-"

"I'm sorry, Nick." Tony interrupted and they all turned as Tony showed them the screen to show plans for weapons based off of the HYDRA weapon designs. Arianna's eyes face contorted in anger as Tony added scornfully: "What, were you lying?"

Steve said coldly to Fury as he folded his arms: "I was wrong, director. The world hasn't changed a bit." "Sir, is this true?" Arianna demanded as Fury's mouth pressed into a thin line.

"Don't pretend you didn't know." Steve snapped at her and Arianna exploded back: "I didn't!"

"She didn't, because it says specifically that it's level 8 and above, Arianna's only level 7." Tony chimed in flatly, and Arianna whirled on him as she snarled: "Oh, so you only trust me because you looked at the records."

He just gave her a thin-lipped look as Thor and Natasha walked into the lab as well. Banner turned to Natasha as he asked angrily: "Well then, did _you_ know about this?"

He gestured to the screen and the weapon lying on the table. Nat just replied firmly: "You wanna think about removing yourself from this environment, doctor?"

He scoffed: "I was in Calcutta, I was pretty well removed." "Loki's manipulating you." Nat told him sharply, and they all watched tensely as Banner retorted: "And you've been doing what exactly?"

"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you." Nat pointed out and Banner countered: "Yes, and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy." He pointed at the screen as he demanded to Fury: "I'd like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction."

They all turned Fury expectantly, and the Director finally replied: "Because of him." He pointed at Thor who looked surprised. They all glanced at him, as Thor asked, stunned: "Me?"

Fury explained: "Last year earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town." The rest of the room watched incredulously as Fury faced off against Thor. "We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned."

Thor pointed: "My people want nothing but peace with your planet." "But you're not the only people out there, are you?" Fury countered. "And, you're not the only threat." He turned to the room as he said to them meaningfully: "The world's filling up with people who can't be matched, they can't be controlled."

"Like you controlled the cube?" Steve asked contemptuously, and Thor added angrily: "Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies. It is the signal to all the realms that the earth is ready for a higher form of war."

"A higher form?" Steve asked, brows furrowed, while Fury returned firmly: "You forced our hand. We had to come up with something-" He made to motion to the weapons plans when Tony interrupted with a scoff: "Nuclear deterrent. `Cause that always calms everything right down."

Fury turned to him as he said pointedly: "Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark?" "Oh, this keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?" Arianna snapped, but Steve added scornfully: "I'm sure if he still made weapons, Stark would be neck deep-"

"Wait, wait, hold on." Tony interrupted irritably. "How is this now about me?" "I'm sorry isn't everything?" Steve returned scathingly.

"Steve, stow it." Arianna said sharply, and he ordered back: "Stay out of this, _Aria_." "Hey, don't talk down to her like that." Tony snarled.

Thor interjected disdainfully: "I thought humans were more evolved than this." Fury demanded of him: "Excuse me, did _we_ come to _your_ planet and blow stuff up?" "Did you always give your champions such mistrust?" Thor countered.

Nat joined the argument as she said irritably: "Are you really that naïve? SHIELD monitors potential threats-" "Captain America is on threat potential watch list?" Banner interjected with raised brows, to which Nat snapped back: "We all are."

Tony meanwhile was saying to Steve mockingly: "You're on that list? Are you above or below angry bees?" "Tony, you're not helping!" Arianna snapped as Steve said to the other man harshly: "I swear to God, Stark, one more crack-"

"Threating! I feel threatened!" Tony called loudly as the group continued to argue, their voices mixing as they all basically snarled at one another. Thor finally burst out above all of them as he mocked Fury: "You speak of control, yet you court chaos!"

"It's his M.O., isn't it?" Banner interjected and they all turned their attention to the scientist as he continued scornfully: "I mean, what are we, a team? No, no, no. We're a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We're... we're a time-bomb."

"You need to step away." Fury told him firmly, but Tony scoffed as he placed a casual hand on Steve's shoulder: "Why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?" Steve hit his hand away as he snapped: "You know damn well why! Back off!"

Tony's eyes became steely and he said, no trace of his usual joking manner left: "Oh, I'm starting to want you to make me." Steve matched him as he stood toe-to-toe with Tony and growled: "Yeah. Big man in a suit of armor. Take that off, what are you?"

"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist." Tony listed. Nat shrugged as if to say 'he has a point', while Arianna dropped her head into her hands. This was _not_ how she'd thought this day would go. Steve snarled at Tony, unimpressed: "I know guys with none of that worth ten of you."

He leveled a look at Tony as he accused flatly: "Yeah, I've seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself." Arianna tensed as Steve continued, biting out: "You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you."

"I think I would just cut the wire." Tony retorted, but Arianna could see Steve's words had affected him. His hand was starting to shake just slightly in anger, and she took a step forward. Steve hadn't noticed as he smiled mirthlessly and retorted: "Always a way out... You know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero."

That hit Tony's nerve and as Arianna was about to snap at Steve to stop it, Tony said coldly: "A hero? Like you?" He stared Steve down as he said harshly: "You're a laboratory experiment, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle!"

"Enough, both of you!" Arianna snapped as she pushed her way between them. She placed her hands on Tony's chest, shoving him back as she used her back to push Steve away. "You're acting like children!"

"He started it, why're you taking his side?" Tony shouted at her, and Arianna snarled: "Tony, back down, now."

"Put on the suit, let's go a few rounds." Steve growled at Tony from behind Arianna, and she ordered him: "You're not helping! Grow up!"

Steve clenched his teeth but looked away as Tony also finally backed off a little. Thor began to laugh as he said: "You people are so petty... and tiny." He mused, and both Steve and Tony glared while Arianna pursed her lips.

"Yeah, this is a team." Banner muttered sarcastically, and Fury said calmly: "Agent Romanoff, would you escort Dr. Banner back to his-" "Where?" Banner interrupted. He gestured out the lab as he said sarcastically: "You rented my room."

"The cell was just in case-" Fury began, trying to placate the scientist but Banner interrupted flatly: "In case you needed to kill me, but you can't. I know, I tried." He bit the words out, and there was a moment's silence. Arianna's heart sank in sympathy for this poor man, who really was a nice guy. He just happened to have a small anger issue problem. Well, a big anger issue problem.

Banner saw their pitying looks and he muttered in explanation: "I got low. I didn't see an end, so I put a bullet in my mouth and the other guy spit it out." They all just stayed silent, Arianna lowering her hands from between Tony and Steve.

Banner continued: "So I moved on. I focused on helping other people. I was good, until you," he glared at Nat and Fury, "dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk."

His voice began to crack as he became agitated, reaching back as he growled at Nat: "You wanna know my secret, Agent Romanoff? You wanna know how I stay calm?" Arianna saw where his hand had gone and her hands moved to her gun on her hip holster.

Fury and Nat did the same as they all saw the same thing, while Steve said with force calm: "Doctor Banner." Banner glared at him, but Steve just said firmly: "Put down the scepter." Banner looked at his hand in surprise, only now aware that he'd grabbed the staff.

The tension in the room was thicker than ever, when suddenly a computer in the far corner of the room beeped. They all glanced at it as Banner carefully put the scepter down and muttered: "Got it. Sorry, kids." He added sarcastically as he walked to the computer. "You don't get to see my little party trick after all."

"Located the Tesseract?" Thor questioned, and Tony said quickly: "I can get there faster."

Arianna groaned as Steve muttered: "Look, all of us-" Thor interrupted as he told Tony: "The Tesseract belongs on Asgard, no human is a match for it."

Tony just shrugged, starting to leave the room anyway, but Steve had had enough and grabbed Tony's arm as he snapped: "You're not going alone!" Tony wrenched his arm away, Arianna still stuck between the two as Tony growled: "You gonna stop me?"

Fury looked at the pair in exasperation, while Nat's eyes narrowed as she took in Arianna's increasingly irritated face as she was squashed between the two men's shoulders as they once again stepped up to each other, Steve challenging: "Put on the suit, let's find out."

"I'm not afraid to hit an old man." Tony returned and Steve said through grit teeth: "Put on the suit."

"Would you two-" Arianna began, annoyed beyond belief, and they glanced down at her in surprise, having forgotten she was there as she stood with her face by Tony's chest.

But Arianna never finished as there was an almighty boom, and the whole base rocked. One side of the lab exploded as the explosion after-waves hit, sending the three flying into the wall. Steve gripped Arianna instinctively, protecting her from the explosion and flying debris as the three fell to the floor.

They sat up quickly, and as all three met eyes, Steve ordered Tony: "Put on the suit." "Yep!" Tony agreed as Steve helped Arianna up and then the two hauled Tony up quickly as they rushed out of the destroyed lab. As they ran, they heard Fury call to Maria over the ear coms: "Hill?!"

Maria responded tightly: "Number 3 engine is down!" There was a pause as she checked damage while the three continued to run through the corridors, avoiding panicking agents. Maria called: "We lose one more engine, we won't be. Somebody's got to get inside and patch that engine."

Fury asked: "Stark! You copy that?" Tony replied swiftly: "I'm on it!" They ran as Fury continued to order: "Coulson! Initiate official lock down in the detention section then get to the armory! Move out!"

Arianna's fists clenched and her brows furrowed in worry as Fury then called: "Romanoff?" Arianna let out a breath in relief as she heard Nat answer swiftly, but with a slightly agitated undertone: "I'm okay."

Arianna switched on their private line, and called: "Nat, you sure?" "Yeah…no." Nat replied, and Arianna's heart dropped.

"Why?" She demanded, but there was no further answer. Tony suddenly peeled off from their group, saying urgently: "Find engine three. I'll meet you there." They nodded and Arianna said quickly: "It's this way."

Steve took off with Arianna, even as the younger woman still listened anxiously for a response. "Nat?" She called, and Steve said to her firmly: "Arianna, you have to focus." She nodded unwillingly. Steve tried to reassure her as they sprinted down the corridors: "I'm sure Romanoff will be fine…"

An almighty, animalistic roar echoed throughout the helicarrier. Arianna almost stopped- there was only one thing on this helicarrier that could make that noise. The Hulk was loose.

Steve slowed slightly, glancing back as he began: "Er-" "Come on!" Arianna ordered as she raced down towards engine three and he quickly followed her.

"Arianna-" Steve began, although he really didn't know how to reassure her, but Arianna replied tersely: "Not now. We need to focus, Cap."

He nodded and didn't say anything more as they reached the airlock door. Steve hauled it open, and they slipped past the injured agents who'd been caught outside when the blast hit. "Stark!" Steve called urgently as he raced out into the empty space.

Arianna joined him and they looked around at the massive hole that had been blown beside the engine, which was unmoving as flames licked the top. "Stark, we're here!" Steve shouted, and Arianna breathed deeply as Tony replied shortly: "Good."

The Iron Man suit flew to a stop before them as Tony told them: "See what we got." He flew in closer to the damaged engine controls, and muttered: "I gotta get this super conducting cooling system back online before I can access the rotors and work on dislodging the debris."

"Tony, we don't have much time." Arianna reminded him and he jerked his head once in curt agreement. He called over to Steve: "I need you to get to that engine control panel," he indicated the panel attached to what remained of the wall, "and tell me which relays are in overload position."

Steve nodded and as Tony flew over to the cooling system, Steve jumped the distance to grab an overhanging rafter and then swing up to the panel. Arianna waited impatiently, unable to get there to help as she could neither jump far enough nor fly.

She used the time to call through her earpiece: "Thor, are you there? If you can hear me, find the Hulk and stop him. Nat won't be able to contain him." There was no response- Arianna doubted Thor knew how to use the earpiece to answer- but she had to hope he heard her.

Tony called to Steve: "What's it look like in there?" There was a pause and Arianna slapped her face with her hand as Steve replied: "It seems to run on some form of electricity." "Well, you're not wrong." Tony muttered.

"Steve, are the wires all connected?" Arianna interjected and Steve paused, before answering: "No." "If you look carefully, the wires have small patterns on them. Those patterns match the rim of the connecting ports, so you just have to re-attach them." Arianna explained, and Steve replied: "Yes, ma'am."

"Don't call me that." She snapped and he retorted as he began to connect the wires: "Arianna's too long." "Then it's 'Aria' or 'Ria', but call me 'ma'am' again and I'll kick your ass, Cap." She threatened and he replied, sounding slightly amused beneath his grim tone: "Okay, Ria."

After about a minute, he called: "Okay, all wires connected. Now what?" "Are any of the panels by the connecting ports lighting up red, or a really dark orange?" Arianna asked, and Steve replied: "Just the one."

"Then you need to pull out that wire and reconnect it, it should automatically reboot." Arianna told him. There was a moment's silence and he reported back: "All lights blinking yellow." "Great. Tony, you heard that?" Arianna called and he called back as he blasted away more debris from his path: "Loud and clear."

"So, relays are intact. What's our next move, Stark?" Steve called, and Tony admitted grimly: "Even if I clear the rotors, this thing won't re-engage without a jump. I'm gonna have to get in there and push."

Arianna frowned as Steve protested: "Well if that thing gets up to speed, you'll get shredded!"

Tony replied grimly: "That stayer control unit and reverse polarity long enough to disengage mag-" "Speak English." Steve interjected and Arianna snorted. She could almost see Tony rolling his eyes in annoyance. Arianna chimed in: "Steve, it's the red lever on the other side of the motor."

He looked out and saw it as Tony explained: "It'll slow the rotors down long enough for me to get out. Stand by it, wait for my word." Steve jumped the distance, landing on what remained of the catwalk that had once been there. Suddenly, Sitwell called over their ear coms: "We got perimeter breach! Hostiles are in SHIELD gear. Hold on to every junction."

 _This just gets better and better._ Arianna thought in exasperation.


	7. Push

Arianna turned, quickly taking a defensive position by the door. "Sir, do you need backup?" She called into her coms, and Fury replied: "Stay where you are agent, and do what you need to do to get that engine back on."

"Roger, that." She replied just as she spotted movement from down the corridor. Arianna whipped out her gun and opened fire, hitting each target as she called to the other two: "We've got incoming."

The hostile forces took cover around a corner and began to shoot back at her. Arianna ducked behind the doorway, and fired back when she could. Steve saw her and yelled above the wind: "Need a hand?" "Under control." She shouted back just as something came rolling in by her foot.

"Grenade!" She shouted in warning as she backed away quickly right as it exploded. Arianna was flung off the side, falling off the open walkway as Steve yelled: "Ria!" But he breathed a sigh of relief as she grabbed hold of the edge, hoisting herself up quickly just as the hostiles arrived. One began to fire at her as another threw another grenade at the engine.

Arianna avoided the gunner as she leapt up, while Steve jumped across to hit the grenade away, causing it to fall and explode harmlessly a few feet below the helicarrier. He jumped on the grenade-thrower as Arianna kicked the other hostile before reaching into the many hidden pockets on her suit. She grabbed a knife and stabbed the hostile just as Steve threw his opponent off the helicarrier.

The pair looked up as more hostiles appeared down the corridor and began to fire at them. Arianna threw her knife at him, hitting one right in the chest, before the pair ducked back behind the doorway. "You need to get back to that lever." Arianna told Steve as she pulled out another knife.

He glanced at it and then at her as he asked seriously: "Can you handle it?" "Yes." She replied firmly. He nodded and jumped back to the lever as Arianna waited for the break between the gunfire to throw the knife, once again hitting her target.

Suddenly the whole helicarrier jerked, shuddered, and then began to tilt. Arianna grabbed the railings as she threated to fall, and she realized what must've happened Sitwell confirmed as he called: "Sir, we've lost all power in Engine 1."

Fury growled: "It's Barton. He took out our systems. He's headed for the detention level. Does anybody copy?" Arianna hesitated, wondering if she should go or stay. But Nat replied: "This is Agent Romanoff. I copy."

Arianna grimly threw another knife as Fury called urgently: "Stark, we're losing altitude." "Yeah. Noticed." Tony replied grimly. Another grenade came flying in and Arianna kicked it, but unfortunately, the helicarrier lurched at that timing.

Arianna lost her balance and went tumbling while the grenade went flying towards Steve, who punched it away but it still exploded a little too close. He went flying backwards, barely managing to stay aboard as he clung to a loose cable.

"Steve?" Arianna cried in alarm, and he grunted back: "Next time, don't kick it!" "What else was I supposed to do?" Arianna demanded as she hauled herself up in time to throw a knife as one of the hostiles ran out into the engine port. Steve began to haul himself up as more hostiles crowded out onto the walkway with Arianna.

Arianna twisted as they began to fire at her and Steve, avoiding the bullets as she slid between the gunners. She kicked one in the leg, tripping him up as she flipped herself up. She grabbed another one's gun as he turned to her, using her leverage to twist him so that she could punch him.

The third one tried to shoot her, but she twisted so that the bullets hit the man's comrades before she threw a knife over the now dead man's head and her gunman. The last two men turned away from firing at Steve and to Arianna, and she stabbed a knife into one as Tony called: "Cap, I need the lever."

"I need a minute here!" Steve yelled as he hauled himself onto the catwalk, and Tony said sharply: "Lever. Now!" Arianna whacked the last man, kneeing him in the groin and then slamming his head into her knee. "Uh, oh." Tony muttered, and Arianna's heart dropped. She whipped around as Steve hit the lever.

Arianna called desperately: "Tony? Tony?!" There was no response and then the Iron Man suit came flying in, crashing through the doorway as one last hostile tried to sneak up on Arianna. Tony rammed into the man, knocking him down.

Tony dropped his head, also unmoving as he lay down, drained. Arianna sat down, as Steve sank down by the lever, both exhausted. They froze as Fury called over the coms, and Arianna's heart stopped: "Agent Coulson is down."

* * *

 _Morning of May 2, 2012_

Arianna sat numbly at the conference table in the briefing room. Tony and Steve sat with her, both in the same state of shock. _Agent Coulson is down._ It had been the four words that had haunted her the most, the four words she'd hoped never to hear.

What was worse was that there was that Phil had died for very little to be gained. Loki had managed to escape, and both Thor and the Hulk had gone missing after they had each fallen out of the helicarrier during the battle. Tony's suit was severely damaged and the helicarrier itself was barely able to stay in the air, let alone find Loki.

If there was one small consolation, it was that Clint was back. Nat had managed to knock him hard on the head, bringing him back to his senses. He was currently in the medical bay, and Nat was with him but Arianna had been unable to move after the news of Coulson's death.

Eventually both Steve and Tony had had to escort her to the bridge, which was how the trio ended up sitting silently at the table, Tony unable even to face the others as he sat with his back to the others. Fury stood quietly at the head of the table, trying to find the right words.

"Phil Coulson was a good man." Fury said quietly at last, and Arianna got up, walking out, unable to listen. When she was gone, Fury told Steve quietly: "These were in Phil Coulson's jacket. Guess he never did get you to sign them." He tossed a deck of bloodied Captain America trading cards, and Steve slowly picked one up as Fury sighed.

"We're dead in the air up here. Our communications, location of the cube, Banner, Thor. I got nothing for you. Lost my one good eye." Fury informed them. "Maybe I had that coming." He finally admitted: "Yes, we were going to build an arsenal with the Tesseract."

He added as he walked over: "I never put all my chips on that number though, because I was playing something even riskier." He nodded at Tony as he explained: There was an idea, Stark knows this, called 'The Avengers Initiative'. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people, see if they could become something more."

He paced around the pair as he continued: "See if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles that we never could. Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea, in heroes."

Tony got up, unable to listen to any more and he walked out as well. Fury finished quietly: "Well, it's an old fashioned notion." That hit Steve hard, and finally he got up and left as well, leaving Fury to dwell in silence.

* * *

Arianna slowly made her way into the medical room, and she paused at the doors. Nat and Clint looked up immediately, sensing a new presence, and their faces softened. Nat stood up, taking the younger woman into her arms in a tight hug as Clint slowly stood up from his cot.

Arianna peered at him over Nat's shoulder and as the Russian assassin let her go she walked over to Clint. He looked at her uncertainly, but Arianna didn't hesitate as she wrapped her arms around him and buried her head into Clint's chest. He hugged her tightly as she clung to him, her eyes squeezed shut as she breathed shakily.

She was so happy he was back, but she could feel him trembling slightly and knew he was feeling extremely guilty about what he had done while under Loki's spell. It was always hard- dealing with death became easier the more they worked on the job but killing innocents was another story.

"I'm glad you're back, Clint." Arianna murmured, and Clint chuckled although his voice cracked a little. "Good to be back, Ria." He said softly. Arianna gestured to his hand as she added: "Sorry about the…" "Nah, you were doing your job. I should rather say good shot." He teased half-heartedly.

They stood for a moment longer in silence before Clint finally pulled back a little, examining her face intently. "It's okay to cry, you know." He said abruptly and Arianna shook her head. "I don't see you or Nat crying, and Phil meant as much to you as he did to me." She pointed out, and Nat's face fell. Clint's became soft as he sighed and sat back down on his cot, pulling Arianna with him.

He gestured at Nat to join him and she sat beside him. Clint wrapped an arm around her as well as he kissed the top of Arianna's head, and he sighed. "I just can't believe he's gone. And that I didn't get to see him before he went." Clint told them, broaching the subject first.

Nat's fists clenched while Arianna hung her head. Clint continued: "He brought me in, and then he seconded my call in bringing Tasha in, and then he and I brought Ria in. He was really the mastermind behind putting the team together when you think about it."

"STRIKE team DELTA." Arianna muttered as Nat nodded. Clint added softly, trying to joke even as his voice cracked again: "The best team." The tears were burning behind Arianna's eyes but they wouldn't come. She sighed a little and Clint hugged her as he murmured softly: "Ria, I'm serious. You can cry- and quite frankly, I think it'll do you better."

"I can't." Arianna's voice cracked. "It's the curse of being a trained spy, isn't it? One of the best men in history died this morning. And I can't even cry for him. It's that hard-wired into me now. Crying is a weakness, and we can't have that." Nat hung her head while Clint squeezed her harder.

Arianna examined her hands, running her fingers across the callouses on her palms from all of her training and missions. She finally muttered: "Sometimes, I really hate myself. He died…" she swallowed, "he's dead, and I can't even bring myself to cry for him." Clint sighed as Nat examined the floor.

They'd all felt the same way at some point, and knew from experience there was no words that could comfort or ease those feelings. Because no matter what people said, it didn't change the facts. At the end of the day, they were killers, people trained to take lives.

The trio sat in silence for a long time, before Clint finally spoke: "Nat and I are going to go after Loki." Arianna looked at them sharply, her eyes dark and calculating. Nat met her gaze evenly as Clint asked quietly: "What will you do?"

Arianna examined the pair as she murmured: "We're not soldiers. We're spies." Nat almost snorted- of course Clint's student would say the same thing he had- and Arianna noticed. She raised her brow and sighed: "So, you've thought of that."

Clint watched carefully as the youngest member of DELTA became pensive, before she admitted: "I think I would feel better if I could stick a knife in Loki's eye." This time Nat did snort, and Clint joined her. Arianna looked at them questioningly and Nat explained, sounding a tad amused: "Clint said almost the same thing. You two really are a pair."

Arianna's lips curved into a small smile at that, and Clint squeezed both of his girls once more before he stood up. "Well, I won't be doing anyone any good like this." He gestured down at his rather beaten-up attire. He moved towards the bathroom but paused.

Turning back he crouched before his two girls, and looked at them each as he said seriously: "I know there are things you two regret. Phil's death will be a thing for all of us to deal with. But just remember- Phil was proud of you two. I know, because I am. I'm proud of you two, and the people you've become despite the circumstances."

Nat nodded while Arianna bowed her head. Clint leaned in to kiss both of them on the tops of their heads, ruffling Arianna's hair a little as he moved to the bathroom to clean up. Nat watched the younger agent as she clenched her fists, and she took the girl's hand in her own.

Arianna turned to her with eyes shining with tears, and Nat murmured: "Should I go kick Clint's butt again for making you cry?" Arianna laughed, even though her voice was thick with tears as she said: "Black Widow's comforting me? There must be something wrong with the world today."

Nat cracked a smile, and Arianna just sighed. She buried her face on Nat's shoulder, and the redhead held her as Arianna took comfort in the warmth of her embrace. The tears didn't fall, but Nat didn't comment as they just sat there and shared the sorrow of losing a good man.

* * *

The pair glanced up when the door to the medical bay opened, and Arianna was surprised to see Steve standing there fully dressed in his Captain America suit. She stood up as he said firmly: "Time to go."

"Go where?" Nat asked from where she was still sitting on Clint's cot. Steve replied seriously: "I'll tell you on the way." He turned to Arianna as he asked: "Can you fly one of those jets for us?"

"I'll do it." Clint replied as he walked out of the bathroom. Steve glanced at the other man, and then looked questioningly at the women. Both nodded once to show Clint was back on their side, and Steve didn't question it further. He asked Clint: "You got a suit?"

Clint jerked his head once and Steve ordered them: "Then suit up." DELTA exchanged looks before they immediately moved into action, each separating to get ready for battle. Clint moved to the men's locker rooms for his SHIELD suit and to collect his bow and unique arrows.

Nat moved to get her weapons and gear from the weapons room, while Arianna went to her locker to fetch all her knives. She slid each one into its place on her suit, meticulously checking them again to ensure they were still sharp. They had never once not been, but she knew it was best to be safer than sorry. Her life would depend on it.

She slammed the locker shut, when she suddenly felt a presence by the door. She turned sharply, pulling knife out only to relax as she saw it was only Steve. He raised his hands in surrender, his brow raised in amusement as she lowered her throwing arm with a sigh.

"Steve," she muttered, "you scared me." "Sorry, didn't mean to sneak up on a SHIELD agent." He joked half-heartedly and she pointed out: "What're you doing here? In case you didn't notice the sign, it's a women's locker room."

He shrugged as he pointed out: "The door was open so I knew you couldn't be changing. Besides, I wanted to talk to you." Her brow rose at that, and she walked over casually as she asked: "Oh? And what can I do to help you, Captain?"

"Ria." He said seriously and her brows furrowed as she examined him. He was looking at her intently and he said abruptly: "Sorry."

"About what?" Arianna asked, still confused, and Steve clarified: "About earlier. I shouldn't have accused you or mistrusted you so easily. You were right- if you'd known about the Hydra weapons, you wouldn't have followed me or pointed out the crates in the first place."

She finally understood and Arianna shrugged. "It's okay, there's nothing to apologize for or forgive." She told him. He frowned, confused, and she explained: "It's natural. I'm a spy, I work at SHIELD, it was natural you'd think I was in on the plan. Sure, I was mad at the time, but I don't blame you for accusing me."

He continued to frown, and as she made to walk out, he blocked the door. She looked at him, startled, as he demanded: "What do you mean 'natural'?" Arianna frowned as well as she pointed out: "Like I said, I'm a spy. We're not exactly trustworthy, so you don't have to apologize."

"Is that what you think? Ria, it's no excuse. I was wrong no matter if you're a spy or not." Steve retorted and Arianna pointed out: "You wouldn't have accused me if I wasn't a spy."

"I probably would have." He admitted. "It was the scepter's spell at work when I got angry, but I shouldn't have gotten angry at an innocent person." "I'm not an innocent person." Arianna replied flatly, the word rubbing her the wrong way. He blinked, surprised and then concerned as she added: "I'm not a good person, and don't forget that."

She made to leave again and he blocked her path once more, frowning at her. "What makes you think you're not a good person?" He asked her quietly and she snorted incredulously. "Did you not see my file? I'm a killer, in case you missed that." Arianna told him impassively.

Steve frowned as he corrected her: "No, you're a spy." "Who kills people." She pointed out, and he countered: "Bad people."

"They're still people." She snarled and he retorted: "I know that. But if you're a killer for that, then so am I. I've killed more people than I can count during the war, and even today I've as good as murdered people."

She fell silent as he said softly: "It's not easy, and you have to live with that. But if it saves thousands of others then I can live with my own hands being bloodied. Because it's like you said." She looked at him, and his blue eyes seemed to pierce her soul as he repeated her words back to her: "You saved countless more."

She pursed her lips, wrinkling her nose a little, before she nodded slowly. He could see she wasn't entirely convinced, but it was a start that he'd got through to her as she had done for him. She was looking at him thoughtfully and then said something very unexpected.

"I can see why Phil admired you. Underneath all that," she gestured at his stars and spangles outfit, "you're just a regular guy with a good heart, aren't you?" He blinked, stunned but she was too deep in thought to notice as she walked past at last.

"It's what he always looked for, you know." Arianna continued. "A good heart. Maybe that's what Phil saw in you more than anything. It would explain his obsession a lot more." Steve stared at her as she walked down the corridor, and she paused to look back, realizing he wasn't following.

She looked at him curiously as she called: "Steve? You coming?" He shook himself out of his stupor and quickly strode up, passing her as he strode towards the hanger. "You know, Ria." He said as she followed and she glanced at him. "You're really something."

She frowned as she asked slowly: "Are you making fun of me?" "Who knows?" He called back and her eyes narrowed. Nat joined them, looking at the pair curiously as they reached the hanger doors, and Arianna was forced to let it go as Clint soon followed.

She focused back on the present situation, Steve doing the same as he gave them all a brief check and then nodded. "Let's go." He ordered and the four strode into the hanger, their faces grim.

As they strode into an open jet, the agent who'd been checking its systems said to them nervously: "You guys aren't authorized to be in here-" "Son," Steve interrupted, "just don't." The agent took one nervous look at Captain America, and then at STRIKE team DELTA behind him, and he nodded backing away and out of the jet.

Clint quickly moved into the pilot seat, checking all flight systems as Arianna moved around the jet to make sure it was safe and fully functional. "All systems clear." She called when she was done, and she moved to sit in the seat beside Clint as he affirmed: "Systems ready. Prepare for takeoff."

Steve and Nat took their places, Nat at seat by the scanners on the side of the jet and Steve gripping on to the handle behind Arianna. "And we're off." Clint said grimly as he lifted them off. As he made his way to the hanger doors, Tony's suit flew by and he called to them through the comms: "I'll go on ahead."

"Right behind you." Clint replied, and Arianna called sharply: "Be careful, Tony." "Roger, that." He replied, sounding a tad sarcastic as he shot on ahead with a loud screech. She muttered: "Even in a beat-up suit, he's got to be cocky." Clint didn't respond, but Steve leaned down and squeezed her shoulder again as he said firmly: "He'll be fine. He knows what he's doing."

She nodded grimly as they flew off to fight a Norse God and his army of alien soldiers. _Now there's something you don't get to say every day._ Arianna thought wryly as she channeled her inner Tony.


	8. The Avengers

As they closed in on New York, their mouths fell open a huge beam of light had shot up into the sky and now, high above Stark Tower, a portal had opened. And from the portal came the Chitauri army, pouring out of the hole in space and raining down on New York.

They could see a tiny dot that was probably Tony flying up to try stop the army, and he managed to blow up quite a few but there were still a lot more and they began to fire down on New York. From their distance, they couldn't see exactly but their scanners were picking up the life-forms spreading around Stark Tower and they could see smoke rising from various parts of the city as fires broke out.

Arianna's grip on the quinjet's gunner tightened as they drew in closer and she called to Tony: "Tony, we're heading North East." "What, did you stop for drive-thru?" Tony quipped sarcastically. He added as he refocused: "Swing up Park, I'm gonna lay 'em out for you."

"Clint?" Arianna called and he replied shortly: "Got it." They flew down the street as Tony had told them, and Arianna activated the guns just as Tony flew around the corner. She fired, hitting all targets, but they were nowhere near finished.

"Sir, we have more incoming." Jarvis's voice said through the comms and Tony replied: "Fine. Let's keep them occupied." He peeled away, heading back towards the portal as Clint flew the quinjet towards the Stark Tower. They could see Thor and Loki battling it out on the top floor.

"Yeah?" Clint asked and Arianna replied shortly: "See them." Clint swung them around and Arianna opened fire at the golden-armored Loki. The God swung Thor away and lifted his scepter. "Clint, watch-!" Nat shouted just as Loki fired.

Clint swerved, but the blast hit their wing and the whole jet jerked. Arianna stopped firing as the jet shuddered and began to go into free-fall. "Hang on!" Clint shouted, and Nat and Steve did just that as Arianna gripped her seat. Clint steered them through the many skyscrapers, trying to avoid hitting one as he tried to land them as best he could.

They finally crashed into an empty street, and Clint heaved a sigh of relief as the agents unbuckled themselves quickly while Steve lowered the ramp and ran out ahead. They followed quickly, heading into the chaos of the streets as police sirens wailed and people ran away screaming.

"We've got to get back up there." Steve said firmly as he looked up at Stark Tower a few blocks away, and they began to run towards the building, moving against the crowd when there was a deep growl from the portal. They paused, staring up at the sky and Arianna's eyes widened in terror as a giant worm-like creature flew out.

It flew above them, heading down the street and it released more Chitauri warriors from its sides as it went. This must be what Thor had warned them about- the Chitauri Leviathan, an almost motherhouse of its soldiers. Arianna took a deep, shaky breath as they watched the released Chitauri soldiers cling to the sides of buildings and begin to fire at and attack innocent people.

"Stark, are you seeing this?" Steve demanded through their ear comms, and Tony replied shakily: "Seeing. Still working on… believing." He added urgently: "Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet?" "Banner?" Steve repeated in confusion, while Arianna's brows furrowed.

"Just keep me posted." Tony told them, before he began to fly after the Leviathan. Steve motioned to them to take cover, and they all ran to duck behind some abandoned yellow cabs, just as a group of Chitauri flew by on their chariots, led by-

"Loki." Steve muttered as they watched the group fire explosives down the street as they went. "Those people need assistance down there." Steve muttered, and then flinched away as a Chitauri blaster hit the cab window, just missing his face.

Arianna whirled around as Nat began to fire her pistols back at their attackers. Clint ran, still crouched over, closer towards the Chitauri as they landed on the streets nearby the four and Nat ducked back down to say to Steve firmly: "We got this. It's good. Go."

Steve hesitated as Arianna slid down the street after Clint, and he asked Clint and Arianna seriously, worried about the three non-supers on the team: "You think you can hold them off?"

Arianna sent him a rather amused expression as Clint glanced back and said flatly: "Captain," he clicked his bow and an arrow whirred into ready position in his quiver, "it would be my genuine pleasure." He grinned, and then both he and Arianna stood up quickly, Clint pulling his arrow.

Clint fired the arrow as Arianna threw two knives, Clint hitting the Chitauri slightly in front and Arianna hitting the ones at the back. Clint's arrow released electric shocks, hitting the two Chitauri beside the one he'd hit, making it a total of five down when the pair ducked back down for cover.

Steve nodded, reassured and he ran off their bridge, heading to help the civilians further down the street as Nat stood and fired at the Chitauri once more. She and Arianna covered Clint as he helped civilians trapped in a bus on their street.

He urged them towards cover as he pointed to the subway entrances, and Arianna moved to cover them as the crowd of people ran, pulling out her guns to get a better coverage range. As soon as the bus was cleared, Clint joined Nat, shooting arrows into the Chitauri as she fired both pistols from behind a cab

Arianna joined them soon after, reaching for her knives. As she threw one and Clint fired another arrow, Nat commented: "Just like Budapest all over again!" Arianna snorted as Clint retorted: "You and I remember Budapest very differently. Ria?"

"I'm with Nat." Arianna replied nonchalantly as she hit another Chitauri right in the head, and Clint muttered as he fired another arrow: "Of course you are." Nat fired a shot at one Chituari and Arianna threw a knife in the same direction, hitting the one behind as Nat's target dropped dead.

They continued, moving out of cover as the Chitauri closed in. There were just too many, and as the fight soon became close quarter, the three spread out into a loose circle. By this point Nat had run out of gunfire and had stolen some form of spear-gun from one of the Chiaturi to use against her opponents as Clint alternated stabbing his arrows into the aliens and then firing them at further targets.

Arianna whipped around, stabbing the Chitauri in the heads, necks or chests to ensure they didn't get back up. She occasionally threw her knives when necessary, usually when she was backing up Nat or Clint, but she knew she needed to conserve them as much as possible. She had very few shots left in her own gun, which she was saving just in case as the fight wore on longer.

She was beginning to tire as she cut through Chitauri after Chitauri, and every time they thought the numbers were beginning to dwindle, a new group of the things would arrive and the fight would repeat itself.

Arianna grunted as she stabbed another Chiaturi, only for it to grab her arm as it died. One of its comrades threw itself on her as she struggled to break free, knocking her off her feet. She kicked it, reaching for a knife when it was whacked off of her by Captain America's shield as Steve jumped into the fray.

He glanced back to check she was alright, and she nodded briefly in thanks as she jumped to her feet, and threw her knife at the Chitauri behind Steve. They turned to the side to face the advancing Chitauri, when suddenly the aliens were all hit by lightning bolts and Thor appeared out of the sky.

He landed before them as Nat and Clint walked over, and the DELTA team checked each other quickly as Steve asked Thor urgently: "What's the story upstairs?" "The powers surrounding the cube is impenetrable." Thor replied tightly.

They all looked up as more Chitauri flew overhead and Tony added: "Thor is right. We gotta deal with these guys." Clint checked his bow as Nat and Arianna turned to Steve, and the redhead asked: "How do we do this?"

"As a team." Steve replied firmly. Nat looked skeptical but Arianna took her arm, nodding in agreement with Steve. Nat flew hair out of her face, nodding a little reluctantly as Thor interjected: "I have unfinished business with Loki." "Yeah?" Clint chimed in flatly. "Get in line."

"Save it." Steve ordered as he turned to the team. "Loki's gonna keep this fight focused on us and that's what we need. Without him these things could run wild." He glanced around at the Chitauri. "We got Stark up top," he pointed at Stark Tower as he began to make plans, "he's gonna need us to-"

Steve broke off as they all heard the sound of a motorcycle. They looked around to see Banner arriving on the small vehicle, and Steve led the way as he quickly walked over to meet the man. Banner commented as he got off the bike: "So, this all seems horrible."

"I've seen worse." Nat commented pointedly, and Banner glanced at her. "Sorry." He said sincerely, and Nat corrected with a small smile: "No. We could use a little worse." Banner looked surprised, although pleasantly so, and Arianna grinned at them.

"Stark?" Steve called into his comm. "We got him." "Banner?" Tony asked and Arianna teased: "No, the other scientist with breath-taking anger issues." She winked at Banner as he glanced at her and he cracked a smile. Steve gave her a pointed look as he told Tony: "Just like you said."

"Then tell him to suit up." Tony replied. "I'm bringing the party to you." He added and they all looked up just as Tony flew around the corner. Arianna's eyes widened as the Leviathan followed behind, smashing the side of a skyscraper as it made the sharp turn after Tony.

Thor snarled as he lifted his Mjolnir, while Nat said in a mix of shock and confusion: "I, I don't see how that's a party…" As Tony flew towards them, the Leviathan following, Banner turned and started down the to meet them. Steve called after the scientist: "Dr. Banner. Now might be a really good time for you to get angry."

"That's my secret, Captain." Banner commented as he planted his feet. He turned to them as he explained: "I'm always angry." With that, he turned back around to face the Leviathan.

As he turned, he changed, turning green and growing larger, ripping out of his shirt while his pants stretched, and it was the Hulk that met the Leviathan, punching it hard and forcing it to a stop with a loud snarl that echoed through the streets. The Leviathan cracked as it met the Hulk's fist, and its protective shell broke open

But it began to flip over the Hulk's head and down towards the team. Arianna flinched, but thankfully Tony flew in, calling: "Hold on." He fired explosives at the Leviathan's now exposed innards, causing it to explode. Thor covered Nat as Clint ducked beneath a cab and Steve threw up his shield to cover both himself and Arianna from the resulting debris.

The whole place was filled with the screams of the Chitauri as they looked down at what had killed their motherhouse. The Avengers simply stood proudly in a circle, Tony landing to join them as they faced the oncoming army while the Hulk roared at the shrieking Chitauri.

Arianna glanced up and saw more Leviathans coming out of the portal, followed by thousands more Chitauri. Nat saw the same thing and she said warningly: "Guys." The rest of the team looked up as well, and Tony said urgently: "Call it, Captain."

"Alright, listen up." Steve ordered sharply. "Until we can close that portal up there, we're gonna use containment. Barton, I want you on that roof," he nodded over to the tallest building nearby, "eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or your turn it to ash."

Tony nodded as Clint asked him: "Wanna give me a lift?" "Right. Better clench up, Legolas." Tony grabbed Clint and Arianna called to them sharply: "You two, be careful or I'll kill you myself." "Don't worry, kid. I'd never leave you to have to deal with the Cap alone." Tony tossed back as he took off, taking Clint with him.

Steve continued: "Thor, you've gotta try and bottleneck that portal. Slow them down. You've got the lightning. Light the bastards up." Thor spun his Mjolnir and flew off, and Steve turned to the remaining two agents. "You two with me, we stay here on the ground, keep the fighting here."

Nat and Arianna exchanged tense looks, nodding firmly, as Steve turned to say finally: "And Hulk." The large green beast turned to him at its name, and Steve pointed up at the many Chitauri scaling the buildings.

"Smash." He said simply, and the Hulk grinned menacingly before he jumped to an incredible height. He landed right on a Chitauri chariot, smashing the Chitauri on it as he made his way further up various buildings. He tore apart all the Chitauri in his way as he jumped from building to building and right into the middle of a group of flying chariots.

Thor flew up to the top of the Empire State building and began to cause a lightning storm, drawing power from that raw energy before sending blasts of lightning at the portal, blowing up a Leviathan right as it was making its way out. Arianna turned her attention back to her fight, and ran at a group of approaching Chitauri.

They fired at her, but she slid on the ground, and sliced at their shins. They screamed in pain as she leapt to her feet and began to stab at each of them, using her position in the center of the group so that they hit each other when they tried to shoot her. She cut off an arm and grabbed one of their guns, pointing it at another Chitauri and shooting it as she stabbed the gun's owner.

She could vaguely hear the others talking in the background, at one point Clint and Tony exchanging light banter, but as none of it was important or directed her way, she ignored most of it as she took on another group of Chitauri. She heard a grunt and spotted Nat pinned to the hood of a car by a Chitauri soldier.

Arianna ran to help her, throwing a knife at another Chitauri that was approaching the redhead just as Nat circled her legs around her attacker and raised herself up so that she could wrench out the nerves on its neck. She then blasted it with her spear as Arianna jumped on the last Chitauri, stabbing it in the neck, and landing on her feet as it collapsed.

Both women turned sharply, weapons raised as they felt a presence drop behind them but lowered it as they saw it was only Steve, his shield raised warily just in case they attacked first. He walked over as the Nat leaned back on the car hood and Arianna bent over to catch her breath, both exhausted.

Nat sent a nod of thanks at Arianna, who shrugged in response, before she said to Steve grimly: "Captain, none of this is gonna mean a damn thing if we don't close that portal." "Our biggest guns couldn't touch it." Steve replied tightly.

Arianna's eyes narrowed as Nat said flatly: "Well, maybe it's not about guns." A group of chariots began to sweep past and Arianna glanced at them. Steve had his eyes fixed on a nearby group of Chitauri as he commented: "You wanna get up there, you're gonna need a ride."

"I got a ride." Nat replied and Steve glanced at where the women were looking. Nat added pointedly: "I could use a lift though." "Do you want me to come with you?" Arianna asked her seriously, and Nat shook her head.

"You do what you can to help the Cap here, I'll let you know if I need backup." She said firmly and Arianna nodded. Nat backed up a bit as Steve braced himself and held up his shield, angling himself even as he asked Nat: "You sure about this?"

"Yeah. It's gonna be fun." Nat replied, sounding just a little sarcastic. She then sprinted, leaping onto the car hood, then Steve's shield. He drew his arm in and then lifted the shield again in a quick springing movement, throwing Nat high into the air with the double momentum.

Arianna watched worriedly as Nat grabbed the bottom of a chariot just as it flew by overhead, and turned away as it flew off. Steve had also watched its path worriedly, but glanced at Arianna as she began to move again. She took off for the group of Chitauri and Steve took a deep breath before he followed.

Arianna stabbed, turned, punched, and repeated the pattern as she took out the Chitauri. Steve joined her, and the two were soon working in sync, having worked out each other's fighting style and pattern. Steve hit a Chitauri and Arianna stabbed it, and they repeated.

Tony flew in to join them, and he shot his suit's laser at Steve, who used his shield to rebound it on the remaining Chitauri. Tony then flew off and Steve called to Arianna: "You okay?" "Never better." Arianna replied sarcastically but she grinned.

He gave her an answering grin before they then took off again, heading for the block over. They fell back into a pattern, working around and with each other, until one of the Chitauri landed a solid punch on Arianna. She went flying, just as another Chitauri jumped Steve, knocking him to the ground.

Arianna whipped up, but a Chitauri jumped her as well, she struggled against it as it tried to choke her, even as she kicked out and used her legs to snap the neck of another Chitauri. Her attacker suddenly let go and Arianan turned to see an arrow in its back.

She saluted the tiny figure on the roof, knowing he'd see the gesture, before she threw a knife at the last Chitauri as Steve kicked and incapacitated his own attacker. Clint called: "Captain, Ria, the bank on 42nd past Madison, they caught a lot of civilians there."

"We're on it." Steve replied and he gestured for Arianna to follow him. They ran through the streets, even as Arianna could feel the fatigue wearing down on her muscles. Steve jumped into the bank through an open window, and Arianna followed just as he threw his shield at one Chitauri.

It dropped the bomb it had been holding, as the other three Chitauri began to fire at Steve and Arianna. Steve ran for the beeping bomb while Arianna dodged the blasts and kicked the legs out from underneath the three gunmen. Steve fought the Chitauri who'd been holding the bomb, knocking it out and tossing it down the balcony to where the crowd was.

"Everyone, clear out!" Steve ordered and Arianna called at him as two of her opponents ran from her and at the super soldier. "Steve!" He turned right as the Chitauri jumped at him, and they fought.

He kicked one off the balcony railing, and it struggled to hang on as the other caught Steve in a chokehold while Arianna's opponent used her momentary distraction to grab her in a headlock, all while the bomb continuing to beep faster.

Arianna stabbed her opponent's arm just as the Chitauri that had been hanging onto the railing pulled itself up at shot a blast at Steve. Steve threw himself up and over his attacker's head so that the blast hit the Chitauri, and he finally escaped the chokehold his attacker had on him although he lost his helmet in the process.

Arianna twisted out of her attacker's grip and stabbed it as Steve's second attacker grabbed the bomb, and Steve yelled out warningly: "Arianna!" She turned towards him as he ran for her, grabbing her and pulling them into a ball behind his shield as the Chitauri raised the bomb, getting ready to throw it at them.

The bomb exploded before the Chitauri could throw it, and the force of the blast sent both Steve and Arianna flying out a window, both landing with a heavy crash on a car roof outside the bank as glass rained down on them. Steve grimaced but quickly turned his head to the younger agent as he called worriedly: "Arianna?"

She didn't move from her spot on the crushed roof, and Steve's heart dropped as he shifted his aching body to check on her. Her head was bleeding pretty badly, but as he touched her cheek lightly her eyes fluttered open and she groaned as she blinked her dazed hazel eyes at him.

"What happened?" She asked and he sighed in relief. "Those people, are they hurt?" Arianna asked with a wince as she slowly began to focus again. The downside was that it meant she could now feel every aching muscle in her body, and she was going to have several wicked bruises tomorrow.

"I think so." Steve murmured, wincing himself as he slowly slid down off the car, landing on his feet on the streets. He glanced back as firemen arrived and began to pull people urgently out of the destroyed bank, ushering them to safety. He looked up and as Arianna didn't move asked her concernedly: "Are you injured?"

She shook her head, wincing as she picked herself up and slowly slid down to stand beside him. "Could be better." She joked weakly, as she clutched her arm in pain and he looked her over worriedly. "You lost your helmet." Arianna noted and he sighed, nodding unhappily.

"Ria?" Clint's voice asked sharply over their ear comms and she groaned. "I don't need you to mother me right now, Hawkeye." Arianna retorted into her earpiece and Clint exhaled sharply. "Don't give me that, _Aria._ Are you hurt?" He demanded and she sighed.

"Sorry, and no. I'm fine, Clint. Don't worry about me, we need to stay focused." Arianna told him, and it was at that moment Nat called over their com: "Hawkeye." Arianna and Steve stiffened, listening intently as Clint asked in disbelief: "Nat, what are you doing?"

"Uh, a little help?" She pointed out, and Arianna listened anxiously but she smiled as Clint replied softly: "I got him." She could almost see his satisfied smirk, and she and Steve exchanged amused glances before it became grim once more and they headed back out into the fight.


	9. There is no I in Team

Arianna and Steve fought through grit teeth. Arianna'd run out of knives at this point and they were both exhausted. She wasn't even sure how many hours it might have been since the fight started, but she did know that every muscle in her body screamed when she moved and then throbbed tiredly when she paused.

She glanced up at one point and froze. The roof where Clint had been was destroyed. "Clint?!" She called into her comms urgently, but there was no response. She spotted a small hole in the building a few floors down where the glass had shattered and wondered if that was where he'd gone.

"Ria? What's happened to Clint?" Nat called and Arianna began: "He's gone, he-" She was cut off as she heard a whistling coming towards her and she barely managed to duck in time as a Chitauri swung its spear at her. But it simply whacked the butt of the spear at her head, knocking her to the ground.

Arianna groaned and then twisted away as it fired its gun from the spearhead, before she kicked at it. It dodged and made to hit her again when Steve's shield whacked it aside, knocking it out. She looked up as he ran over, asking urgently: "Ria, you okay?"

She nodded, saying gratefully: "Thanks, Steve." "You need to stay focused. Barton's strong, he'll have found a way to survive." Steve told her sternly and Arianna nodded, hanging her head. "I know. I'm sorry." She murmured, and Steve paused.

He glanced around to make sure they weren't in danger at the moment before he clamped a hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eye. Her hazel eyes met his blue ones as he said gently: "I promise you, we'll look for him as soon as we can. But for now, I need you here."

She stared into his eyes and Steve's pounding heart suddenly had nothing to do with the battle-induced adrenaline as her sharp hazel eyes bore into his. Arianna nodded slowly and then once more firmly.

"Roger, that. Captain." She said softly, almost teasing but there was a deep respect in her voice. Steve swallowed, suddenly feeling disoriented, but her eyes became sharp and she called warningly: "Steve!" He whipped around as more Chitauri appeared and he quickly returned to the battle at hand.

The pair started fighting again, and Arianna managed to pull a Black Widow and steal a spear from one using it to fire at the others. Thor joined them as Steve threw his shield to cover Arianna, hitting away a Chitauri that was about to attack Steve as Arianna used her opponent's distraction caused by the shield to take him out. She threw the shield back to Steve with a nod of thanks, before turning back to the fight.

She'd just sent one of the Chitauri flying with a blast from her spear, when Steve suddenly grunted painfully and she whipped around to see him thrown to the ground after a blast hit him right in the stomach. "Steve!" Arianna called worriedly.

She quickly fired at the Chitauri, distracting them as Thor smashed a car at them. He kept them at bay as Arianna skid over to Steve as the super soldier slowly crawled back to his knees. He was breathing heavily, and seemed to be having trouble getting to his feet.

She touched his shoulder worriedly, asking softly: "Steve?" He grimaced at her, and they both looked up as a hand appeared before Steve's face. Thor waited, and Steve took the offered hand gratefully. Thor helped him to his feet as Arianna supported Steve, gripping his elbow.

She frowned worriedly at Steve's heavily bleeding side, and Thor asked, though he was eyeing the Captain concernedly: "You ready for another bout?" "What? You gettin' sleepy?" Steve joked, but his face was furrowed in pain and his breathing still heavy.

Thor smiled grimly before grabbing his Mjolnir and Arianna muttered: "Men." But even her jibe was half-hearted and Steve gripped her shoulder as they turned back to the advancing Chitauri.

"You're wounded, you should rest." Arianna murmured to Steve as they took a fighting stance once more and Thor flew on ahead to meet their attackers.

"You're injured, too, and you're still going." He replied calmly and Arianna retorted: "Injured, not wounded. You're no good to us dead, Cap."

"Neither are you. So you'd better come back alive." Steve replied lightly but there was a serious undertone to his voice. Arianna just gripped her spear tightly as some of the Chitauri broke through Thor and headed for the pair. She murmured quietly: "You'd better be there to meet me when I do."

He nodded tightly, and then they ran forward, once more throwing themselves into the fray. Arianna had just whacked aside a Chitauri when Nat's voice called: "I can close it! Can anybody hear me? I can shut the portal down!"

"Do it!" Steve ordered, when Tony replied sharply: "No, wait!" Arianna exchanged puzzled glances with Steve before she threw another blast at a Chitauri and Steve pointed out to Tony: "Stark, these things are still coming!"

"I got a nuke coming in. It's gonna blow in less than a minute." Tony replied and Arianna's blood ran cold. _The council._ She realized. Only the council could authorize this. Tony continued grimly: "And I know just where to put it."

They all looked up at the portal, realization hitting them in horror. Steve said sternly: "Stark, you know that's a one-way trip?" "Save the rest for return, J." Tony told Jarvis, avoiding Steve's question. Arianna gripped her spear tightly as they heard Jarvis ask Tony: "Sir. Shall I call Miss Potts?"

"You might as well." Tony replied lightly, but Arianna knew he would only allow a call to Pepper if he knew he wasn't going to make it. She blasted another Chitauri, and then looked up at the sky. Thor and Steve did the same and they all watched as Tony flew up towards the portal carrying the portal.

Arianna screamed as he disappeared inside the portal: "TONY!" Steve grabbed her, holding her tightly in comfort as all the Chitauri around them collapsed, deactivated, meaning the bomb had exploded and taken out the control ship. Arianna stared around and then back at the portal in horror, silently willing Tony to come back.

The portal gave a faint booming noise, and shimmered as a supernova started heading towards the portal gate. Arianna started to tremble as Steve and Thor exchanged looks, and Thor gave a short nod to the Captain.

Steve ordered quietly into his earpiece: "Close it." Arianna gave a broken sob, and he hugged her to him, her head pressed against his chest as they stared up at the portal. The beam from the Tesseract faltered as Nat closed it, before it disappeared and the tears began to stream down Arianna's face at last.

Steve could feel the wet spots appearing on his suit and he whispered to her sadly: "I'm sorry." She didn't reply as she cried silently, and they watched the portal shut… just as a small figure fell through. Arianna's eyes widened as Steve murmured in disbelief: "Son of a gun."

Arianna began to smile, but it dropped as Tony continued to free-fall. Both Steve and Thor noticed as well, and Steve gripped Arianna tightly as Thor muttered, beginning to swing his Mjolnir: "He's not slowing down."

But it turned out it wasn't necessary as, with an almighty roar, the Hulk appeared out of nowhere, jumping through air and catching the falling man. The Hulk crashed into a building with one hand, using its grip to slide down the building before it jumped off and landed heavily on the ground, cradling Iron Man in its other arm.

The trio ran over as the Hulk placed the Iron Man suit on the ground and Thor quickly turned the prone body over, pulling off the helmet as Steve knelt down and checked for breathing. Arianna skid onto her knees beside Steve, waiting anxiously.

Steve lifted his head and checked Tony's chest, where the light from his arc reactor was also out. He slowly turned Arianna, shaking his head and she placed a hand over her mouth, stifling sobs. He wrapped an arm around her as Thor turned away, unable to look any longer.

But the Hulk wasn't having that and it roared right in Tony's face, and they all jumped as Tony gasped, his eyes flying open in shock. Steve's face broke into a disbelieving smile while Arianna's face blanked in complete shock, and the Hulk roared again in triumph, beating its chest proudly.

"What the hell?" Tony gasped, and he stared at Steve. "What just happened?" He then saw Thor as the Norse God turned back and leant over Tony's head. "Please tell me nobody kissed me?" Tony said flatly before his eyes landed on Arianna.

Steve sighed and raised his eyes to the destruction around them as Tony added: "Well, not that you'd be a bad choice, but…" Tony trailed off as Arianna's face didn't change, and he realized that for the first time since he'd ever met the agent, she was stunned into a completely frozen state.

He also noticed tear tracks on her face, very noticeable around the grime and dirt that covered it. She never cried… _Damn,_ he thought, _I guess it was really bad._ Steve meanwhile kept his firm grip around Arianna, holding her tightly as she sat numbly while he muttered in disbelief: "We won."

Tony glanced at him, and then said lightly: "Alright. Hey. Alright. Good job, guys. And girl." He added, but Arianna only blinked at him. At least she was moving now. Tony rambled on: "Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day." He groaned in pain.

"Have you ever tried shawarma?" He added randomly. Steve had to chuckle as he stared down at Tony, his blue eyes bright with emotion as Tony continued: "There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I wanna try it."

"We're not finished yet." Thor corrected calmly, looking up at Stark Tower. Steve also turned to it while Arianna finally spoke as she said, glaring down at Tony: "Yeah, I need to kill Tony myself for scaring me like that." Tony blinked at her, and then tried: "And then shawarma after."

* * *

When Loki finally came to and climbed to his knees, he froze. Sensing a presence behind him, he turned to find himself face to face with all of the Avengers as Clint slowly drew his bow, his arrow pointed right at Loki's face.

He stared at each face- Iron Man, the Hulk, Captain America, Aria, Hawkeye, Thor, and Black Widow- and then said to Tony quietly: "If it's all the same to you. I'll have that drink now."

* * *

 _A few hours later_

The team sat in the shawarma joint in complete silence, except for Thor's enthusiastic eating. Tony sat beside him at their round table, and he was also eating, his expression thoughtful as he chewed his mouthful of food. Bruce sat beside him, nibbling at his portion.

Steve sat beside Thor, leaning on his fist tiredly, as he picked at his food. Arianna was sitting beside him, then Nat, and then Clint, none of them even bothering to try to eat. Clint had his legs propped up on Nat's chair, and Arianna was beginning to doze off as she leaned against the super soldier tiredly.

"So, what now?" Bruce asked, finally breaking the tension. Arianna lifted her head sleepily to look at the scientist as he nodded at the group, continuing: "We've beaten the bad guys, great, but what next?"

They glanced at each other before Tony piped up: "Well, I'm going home." "It's in shambles." Steve pointed out and Arianna pulled a face, knowing what Tony was going to say. Lo and behold, Tony retorted: "My _Malibu_ home."

Steve rolled his eyes, but now their banter was playful. Arianna grinned as Tony added: "Pepper's going to meet me there." "Bet she was worried." Arianna murmured softly, and Tony nodded. His face softened and for once he showed his genuine side to the team as he admitted: "I thought I'd never see her again. Now that I can, I will as soon as I can."

"How come you're still here then?" Clint teased, and Tony replied airily: "Her jet takes longer, and I'm not going to go early just to sit and wait. Don't worry though," he added as he caught Arianna raising her brows at him, "I'll be there before her. So don't make that face, Ria."

She laughed at him while the others chuckled. "You could come with me." Tony suggested suddenly to Bruce, who raised a brow. "What, so I can watch you cuddle with your girlfriend?" He asked, and Tony rolled his eyes. "Stark Tower's a mess right now, but my Malibu house has two floors where I do my work. It's not much but it's got enough toys to keep us entertained until the Tower's back on track."

"Two floors isn't much?" Steve asked skeptically and Arianna teased: "It isn't for Tony." He stuck his tongue out at her as Bruce mumbled: "Thanks, but I don't think-" "Think of it as a thank you present to the other guy for saving me." Tony interrupted and Bruce paused, looking uncertain.

Arianna decided to chime in: "Tony, it's still a little awkward for Bruce while you and Pepper are around." Tony opened his mouth to argue but Arianna carried on as she suggested: "I know your team's probably already starting work on reconstructing the Tower. How about Bruce sticks around to help, and he can stay in the Tower for the night? Your lower floors weren't damaged- he could stay there."

Bruce looked surprised while Tony thoughtful. "You know, kid, I remembered why I liked you." Tony joked and Arianna laughed, shaking her head at him. Tony looked around the room as he offered: "Any of you need somewhere to stay, the Tower does have some rooms in the lower floors you could stay in."

"Nah, I'm good, thanks. I've got somewhere I can go." Clint replied nonchalantly, and Nat nodded. "I'll be joining you." She grinned and he nodded. They waited, and Nat glanced at Arianna in surprise as the younger agent pursed her lips thoughtfully. Arianna was glancing at Steve, who was looking pensive.

Thor interrupted: "I do not wish to be too far from my brother. He is talented in magic and trickery, and I would feel better if I was closer to him." Tony nodded understandingly, but he pointed out: "SHIELD's New York office building doesn't have rooms. You wouldn't have anywhere to sleep."

"He can stay with me." Arianna offered. The team turned to her in surprise, but she was looking at Thor as she said: "I live in the SHIELD apartments, right across the block from the office. It's as close as you'd get and basically the same as being inside. My apartment's also hardwired to SHIELD's security system- one of the perks of being on the tech team- so if something happened with Loki, you'd know right away."

Thor looked astonished, but he nodded as he agreed: "If it is alright with you, I would be very grateful." She then turned to Steve as she added: "You could stay, too, if you want. I have enough room." He blinked at her as she pointed out: "Your apartment was on one of the streets that got blown. I doubt you'd be allowed in."

He nodded- he'd already been thinking about it- but he asked slowly: "Are you sure you want us in your home?" "Why not? It'll be fun." Arianna shrugged. Steve looked stunned so Clint laughed as he told him: "There's no such thing as modesty when you're a spy. Trust me, we've all had to share less than an apartment. At least with you two we know it's safer to say nothing will happen."

"You know, I wouldn't take that as a compliment." Tony interjected as Steve's face turned slightly pink, and Arianna laughed. Clint snorted as Nat smirked: "Only you wouldn't, Stark." Bruce was looking distinctly uncomfortable with the topic while Thor was looking confused.

"Anyway," Arianna interrupted as she calmed down again, "so, how about it, Steve?" He looked at her thoughtfully before he said at last: "Why not, I guess." Tony raised a brow while Arianna nodded and she said cheerily: "Great. And Bruce," she added to the good doctor who looked at her startled, "you're welcome to come at any time as well. Dinner will be on me."

"How come I'm not invited?" Tony demanded as Bruce blinked, taken aback by the friendly offer. "You know I love your cooking." "Get Pepper to cook for you." Arianna teased him, and Tony shot back: "Maybe I will." "Then good." She laughed at him and he pouted at her.

"You know you're almost double her age, right." Nat pointed out to Tony, who immediately retorted: "So?" "Never mind." Nat muttered as Clint chuckled and Arianna laughed again while Thor began to smile. Steve slowly began to grin as well as the four bantered lightly, and even Bruce joined in as they all began to laugh and joke around.

* * *

 _May 4, 2012_

It had been two days since the Battle of New York. Amidst the press, good and bad, the Avengers had recuperated while SHIELD scrambled to do damage control and kept Loki under lock and key. Officials were still trying to decide what to do with the team that had now become famous around the world, but it seemed the people of New York were firmly on the side of the heroes who had saved the city.

Fury was dealing with the Security Council personally, firmly siding with the Avengers by giving them a 'leave of absence' as he'd pointedly called it. Basically, it meant lay low until the whole incident blew over and the council was forced to see things from his perspective.

They'd done exactly that, each going their way as they'd agreed during their shawarma stint. And Arianna had actually enjoyed having Steve and Thor with her in her apartment. She found it rather amusing waking up to a demi-god making PopTarts in her kitchen, although she found it less amusing when he broke her mug.

Steve was a quieter guest, but the two had grown close during the battle and she was surprised to find she enjoyed Captain America's company. Though, given that she'd started to see what he was really like beneath the 'stars and spangles', she really shouldn't have been surprised. Steve really was just a nice guy and though she often teased him for it, she respected the gentleman that he was.

It was the same for Steve- as they spent more time together uninterrupted by fighting, he was starting to see the woman behind the mask the spy wore. He could see why Stark liked her, and what had drawn Coulson, Barton, and Romanoff. Despite the sometimes cold exterior she exuded, she was a cheerful young woman with a warm compassion for others.

So when Fury called in during their two-day respite to ask Steve formally to join SHIELD, Steve agreed. He had had his doubts, because even if it had been Howard and Peggy who started the organization, he wasn't sure he could trust its current authority. But he decided that if two people with good hearts, Arianna and Phil, believed in it enough to fight at SHIELD's side, then he could trust it too.

Arianna had teasingly sulked when he was automatically awarded a clearance level of 8, placing him at above almost everyone in SHIELD. In fact, only Nick Fury, senior SHIELD official Alexander Pierce, and Maria Hill had a higher clearance level than Steve. He'd felt somewhat uncomfortable but she'd just laughed at him good-naturedly, making him crack a smile as well in the end.

To both his and Arianna's surprise, Fury had asked Arianna to partner with him while Steve got used to things at SHIELD. She'd agreed of course, but Steve wasn't sure why, when she did, his heart had pounded excitedly. It wasn't the first time they would be working together, and he simply reasoned it was a reaction to the small thrill of returning to duty.

Well, that's what he told himself, even though somewhere he knew it wasn't quite that. He'd caught himself staring at Arianna a little too much more than once during his stay. But hopefully, he told himself, it was just a phase; he had been deprived of human contact, and he was only reacting as a man in his position naturally would. He didn't want to risk his first tentative friendship since he'd awoken for some slight fancy.

They'd agreed to return to work once Thor left for Asgard… which was today. The whole team had gathered in Central Park to say farewell to Thor, at least until next time. Arianna hugged him briefly before he went, and Thor almost crushed her ribs when he returned the embrace.

She walked back and watched as Thor led a manacled and gagged Loki into the center of park while Tony carried forward the case with the Tesseract. Dr. Selvig was there too, and he and Bruce Banner place the Tesseract into a container for Thor to take back to Asgard.

Arianna arrived next to Steve and leaned against him as they watched Thor say goodbye to Selvig, giving the old scientist a warm hug. Thor then nodded at them in thanks and farewell, and Steve saluted him as Arianna gave him a small, cheery wave. He gave them one more almost pensive look before he returned to his brother.

The others also gave the pair a brief, thoughtful look. The team had all become better friends since the battle, so it surprised no-one that those two had formed a bond. But there was the occasional glance that Steve gave Arianna, which made others wonder how much was purely friendship on the super soldier's side. As for the spy, well, no-one could really tell and perhaps she wasn't aware herself.

But Nat raised a brow as she watched the pair carefully, particularly the brunette, before whispering conspiringly with Clint, who grinned. He glanced at Arianna as well, unseen, from behind his sunglasses and his expression became thoughtful. But they said nothing more as they turned back to Thor when he activated the Tesseract and he and Loki disappeared in a flash of blue light.

The rest of the team then broke off to say their goodbyes to each other for now. Steve shook hands with Tony, the two finally having seen somewhat eye to eye, before Arianna gave Tony a tight hug that he returned. Nat gave Bruce a warm smile as she handed him his belongings that SHIELD had collected for him, and Bruce answered it hesitantly before he moved to join Tony by the billionaire's car.

The pair were heading back to the Stark Tower, where Bruce would continue to help Tony with the renovations… and Arianna was sure he'd be staying. After all, 10 floors of R&D facilities was nothing to scoff at. Clint got into a car with Nat, the two heading back to SHIELD base, while Arianna gave Bruce a hug too, much to the scientist's surprise.

He and Tony then got into Tony's red convertible and they drove off as well, while Arianna walked back over to join Steve at his motorcycle. He was taking them to the SHIELD office and he grinned at her as she walked up. She returned it as she climbed onto the back of his bike, and then she clung to his back as he drove them off.

The team was splitting up for now, but Arianna was sure they'd all see each other again some day, and she was looking forward to it. But for now, she was content as she held onto Steve's waist and felt her heartbeat pick up just a little as they took off down the streets of New York.

END ARC 1


	10. New Life

A/N To celebrate the fact that I have a long weekend, here's an update! Been working on it for a while, hope you guys like it.

 _May 17, 2012_

Arianna left SHIELD headquarters early that afternoon, glancing over her shoulder once nervously. She'd told Steve she was going back to her apartment to finish some unpacking and she thought he'd believed her but she wanted to make sure he wasn't following her.

Assured she was indeed alone, she quickly caught a cab and headed down the streets of Washington D.C.. She hadn't lied to Steve exactly- she was going to go back to her apartment later and finish unpacking the last of her boxes, some files which she'd left lying around too lazy to unpack yesterday. But first, she was going to visit someone at the nursing home she'd looked up… a very special someone.

Once she arrived, she quietly slipped inside the quiet facility. She didn't bother with the receptionist, just moving silently up the staircase and heading for one of the upper floors, looking for the right room. She paused outside and knocked carefully.

"Come in." A quiet, but firm voice called and Arianna slowly walked inside. The old woman raised her brows questioningly as she peered at her guest. "I'm sorry… but do I know you?" She asked curiously, her British accent still strong despite the many years she'd lived in the U.S.

Arianna grinned wryly as she shook her head, and she introduced quietly: "My name is Agent Arianna Hart, ma'am. I'm here… because of Captain Steve Rogers." Peggy Carter's eyes, which had become shrewd upon hearing Arianna's title, lit up at the name.

"I never thought I'd live to hear the day he returned. When SHIELD told me a year ago, well…" She smiled, and Arianna smiled back softly. She placed the small bouquet of flowers in the vase on the old woman's bedside and at Peggy's gesture, she sat down on the seat by the old woman's bed. Peggy looked at her expectantly and Arianna took a deep breath.

"He doesn't know I'm here, and I don't think he knows where you are yet, ma'am." Arianna admitted, and Peggy smiled. Arianna continued slowly: "He's been given the files on his former team, yours included ma'am, but from what I can tell he hasn't looked at them yet. I… to tell you the truth, I don't think he wants to."

"No, I'm sure it's hard on him." She reassured understandingly and Arianna nodded gratefully. She said slowly: "Ma'am, I'm here because I want to help him assimilate back. I was at the Battle of New York with him, and since then I've been assigned to be his partner. But it's hard on him- he woke up from 1945 to find himself in 2011, and, though he hasn't confirmed it, most of his friends dead. He won't admit it, but I know he's finding it hard to let what is in the past be the past."

Peggy nodded, and she said softly: "I understand. But you came to me for a specific purpose didn't you?" Arianna nodded and she said quietly: "He doesn't know you're here yet, but I was hoping to tell him soon if he won't look at the files first. I came ahead… just to confirm that you would be okay with his visit."

Peggy laughed lightly as she replied easily: "Of course it's alright. But I think that isn't all, is it?" She looked at the younger agent knowingly and Arianna nodded. "Ma'am, if it's not too much trouble… I was hoping you'd be able to help him. You're all he has left, and if I may be quite frank, you are what he had missed the most."

Peggy examined the young woman before her as Arianna asked quietly: "Could I ask that you do that for him? Help him to move on from his past, so that he may find a life here in the present?"

Arianna looked at the old woman imploringly, and Peggy began to chuckle. Arianna blinked as Peggy chortled: "Oh, you looked so pleading. It's very kind of you to think of Steve so much." Arianna blinked again in surprise and she replied, a little confused: "Not really. He's a really good guy, and he's become a good friend to myself, too. It's the least I could do for him."

Peggy just smiled, though she sighed softly as she murmured: "You're so like him. You have a good heart." Arianna stared at the woman, feeling a small pang. It was what Phil had told her, and though she appreciated the compliment Arianna couldn't help but point out: "I'm a spy, ma'am. I don't think we have hearts enough for anything."

"Oh, you do. Trust me, I worked at SHIELD long enough to be able to see through most deceptions." Peggy chuckled, and Arianna wasn't sure how to respond. She chose the safe option and kept quiet while Peggy mused: "And you're right- I've seen plenty of agents without hearts. But you can't honestly tell me everyone you work with is like that?"

Arianna paused, thinking of Phil, Steve, Clint, Nat to an extent. The Russian did have a heart, it was just sometimes not extended very far. Arianna nodded slowly and Peggy smiled as she said gently: "So trust me when I say that I've become quite good at picking up on those who truly have something good in here."

She placed a hand over her own chest to emphasize and Arianna had to smile at that, although it was a little wry. She sighed and then returned to business as she told Peggy: "Thank you, ma'am. And I promise, at the very latest I'll have Steve here for you by the first of next month."

"No, thank you, Arianna." Peggy replied with a mysterious smile. Arianna wondered what it could be for, and then looked startled as Peggy added kindly: "And please, call me Peggy."

Arianna nodded slowly, as she examined the stately old woman before her. She wasn't sure it was acceptable really- this woman was almost regal in her air alone, and a war hero to boot. To cap it off, she was the founder of the organization Arianna worked for and was in essence higher than her boss. It seemed somewhat wrong to call her 'Peggy'… and yet, at the same time it felt so familiar.

Peggy seemed to understand her struggle and smiled warmly at the girl. Arianna couldn't help the tug at her own lips and she answered the older woman's smile as she said slowly: "Until next time, then… Peggy."

"See you soon, Arianna." Peggy replied with a twinkle in her old eyes and Arianna left with one last smile at the old woman.

* * *

 _June 1, 2012_

Steve P.O.V.

It had been just over two weeks since they'd moved to Washington, and about four weeks since the Battle of New York. And in all that time, Steve had still found it difficult to move on, to find his place in the world again. SHIELD tried to help with psychiatrists and meditation tricks that didn't work. The only thing that he'd found helpful at all was Arianna's presence and her often silent but steady support.

He was still often haunted by nightmares of the war, and had so far been unable to open the files on his old comrades in fear of what he would find. He'd only read Howard's file, and that was mostly because he was curious as to what had happened to have left Howard's son, Tony, so bitter. He wished he hadn't.

Howard's death was a striking blow because Steve couldn't shake the feeling that it had happened because of him. According to the files, Howard had become obsessed with finding Steve, and the car accident that had killed him and his wife had occurred whilst Howard had been on his way to examine a potential dig site to look for Steve.

After reading Howard's file, Steve had been barely able to sleep for a week, going to the SHIELD gym every night to punch out his frustrations. Arianna had found him on his fourth trip, and she'd followed him every night after, just silently sitting in the corner as Steve vented his frustrations. She wouldn't talk, she wouldn't move, she just watched him until he was drained and then she'd simply walk over to give him a water bottle and help him unwrap his hands.

Eventually, he'd cracked. He'd split the third bag that night, and he hadn't moved for a new one. Arianna had gotten up and walked over to him, gently placing a hand on his arm and looked him in the eye. When he finally looked at her and saw the deep emotion in her eyes, he'd let his sorrow pour out at last.

The tears had slid down his face as he hung his head, and she'd simply wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a comforting embrace. He'd moved to return the hug, his arms clinging to her and she'd held onto him as he cried. They'd stood there for a long time, Arianna letting him cry into her shoulder and patting his back soothingly as she murmured soft words of comfort.

After that, he managed to sleep a little better every night, and she started to take him around after work. She showed him different things, and all the strange wonders of the 21st century. But Steve noticed after a while that she was carefully arranging what she called his 'educational trips' so that they moved between the present and his time.

For example, she teasingly told him he couldn't be so out-of-date with his phone and that discussion on technology had ended in her dragging him to a science museum. But they'd started at the 1920s, where she'd pointed out each major invention, explaining much better than the guides in Steve's opinion, and particularly enjoying when they moved from Howard to Tony Stark's contributions to technological advancements.

And whenever she suggested dinner, somehow it was always a themed diner, moving through the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and the 90s. It helped him adjust, when there was a clearer picture of just how the 21st century had resulted from what he was used to in the 40s. And for that, he was grateful to her.

She also didn't tend to push him, never really asking him to tell her what was wrong or trying to force anything on him. But she slowly started to suggest things, and he figured out it was because she was starting to see what he enjoyed and what he didn't. She'd taken him to see an art gallery the last weekend, and he had a sneaking suspicion it was because she'd caught him drawing the one day.

But for the past few days, Arianna had been acting rather strange. It had begun a few days after their trip to the gallery, and Steve wasn't sure what it was but Arianna had been acting decidedly odd. She kept opening her mouth as if to say something before quickly changing her mind.

At first, he'd wondered if it was because he'd begun boxing as a pastime during training sessions, as opposed to as a stress-reliever, but he slowly realized it was more than that. It was almost like she was on the brink of suggesting something but kept stopping herself each time, which wasn't usually her style.

She'd come to read him pretty well, and she usually just popped an idea casually knowing he'd just say yes and come along, sometimes amusedly sometimes curiously. But this time, it was as though she was tiptoeing around a lion's den from the way she seemed to avoid the subject. Finally, though, she said something.

"Steve." She began that afternoon and he raised his brows. "Ria." He teased and she rolled her eyes at him. "I wanted to go somewhere today, and I was wondering if you wanted to go with me?" She asked and his brows rose even further. She hadn't phrased their outing trips like that since the first time she'd asked, she usually just suggested they go. _She's nervous_. He realized.

"Alright…" Steve said slowly, and she beamed although it looked a little forced. "Great! Let's go." She grabbed his arm and almost dragged him out of the Triskelion, SHIELD's HQ. "Is there a reason we're in a hurry?" Steve asked wonderingly and she nodded firmly.

"There're visiting hours." She explained and he frowned. _Visiting hours?_ "Are we visiting someone?" He asked confused and she nodded. "Someone very important." She told him and Steve frowned in confusion, wondering what was going through her head- not for the first time.

He'd long since learnt that Arianna could be rather excitable, and that despite her reputation as one of SHIELD's best and fiercest agents, she could be rather childish. But Steve noticed it was usually only with him, and that she usually had a cool, almost cold aura when she was dealing with other agents.

At first he couldn't decide which was the act, but slowly saw that the cold front wasn't an act, it was a guard. A guard against those who hadn't yet earned her trust, and he'd realized with sudden alacrity that she trusted him a lot more than he'd thought. And that made him decide to trust her a little more.

Like now, for instance. He sighed, but didn't question her as she drove them through the streets, heading towards the outskirts of the city. He finally saw, to his surprise, that they were headed for an old age home and he wondered who on earth they could be here to meet. He thought about the date, and wondered if she was visiting family… although why would she bring him with her then?

Arianna waited for him impatiently as he slowly got out of the car, still looking utterly confused, and she ushered him in. She walked up the stairs, heading off confidently and Steve noted that this was not her first time here. She stopped outside a door and waited for him as he followed more slowly, not liking how nervous she appeared to be.

When Steve finally joined her side, she knocked and a vaguely familiar voice called from inside: "Come in." Steve froze- it sounded a little different, much older, but it was too familiar… but it couldn't be. He stared at Arianna in shock, but she didn't look at him as she opened the door and said firmly: "Hello, Peggy. I brought him as promised."

She finally looked back at Steve who took a numb step into the room. He looked over to see it was indeed Peggy Carter lying on the bed; despite the wrinkles and the white hair, he could recognize her easily. She was the same woman, and it was the same brown eyes twinkling up at him in amusement.

"From his expression, I'm guessing you didn't tell him it was me you were coming to visit." Peggy commented dryly, and Steve glanced at Arianna as she shifted sheepishly. She replied: "Sorry, I didn't want to risk him running away. There's no way I could catch him, and then I'd have broken my promise to you."

She then glanced nervously at Steve who seemed to be frozen once more, unable to step further into the room, and murmured softly: "I'll let you two be alone. I'll be right outside if… if you need me." She almost fled from the room, looking a little afraid of how Steve would react.

The door closed softly behind the brunette girl, and Steve slowly turned to stare at his old love. Peggy smiled, and gestured to the chair by her bed. Steve sat down slowly as Peggy chuckled: "She's a bold one, I'll admit. When she told me she would bring you, I thought she'd ease you into it. I can't believe she didn't tell you and just dragged you here- how is it different then now rather than earlier?"

Steve stared at her numbly and Peggy laughed at him as he was used to her doing. "Look at you, you look almost like you did when I first met you." She chuckled and Steve finally managed to speak as he mumbled: "You, you're really…"

"Yes, I'm really here." Peggy said, amused and Steve blinked slowly at her. "Hm, Arianna didn't mention being frozen had made you dimmer." Peggy teased and Steve finally chuckled. He shook his head in amazement as he murmured: "I just never expected it to be you. I didn't think you were still…"

He trailed off and Peggy supplied helpfully: "Alive?" Steve winced but he nodded and Peggy's face softened. "Yes, well, I am the last one, I'm afraid." Peggy admitted and Steve tensed. She patted his hand as she continued gently: "There wasn't any pain, Steve. Only Howard went early, and even then we've been assured he probably didn't feel anything his death was so quick."

Steve was still tense, but Peggy patted his hand soothingly as she continued: "The others went painlessly, after long and full lives." She looked at him meaningfully and Steve just bowed his head. Peggy sighed as she murmured: "Our only regret was that we never found you. That we never knew if you were still alive after all. I'm glad I got to find out at last."

"I'm sorry." Steve said at last and Peggy just looked at him. He was staring at their hands, his still spry and young while hers was wrinkled and weak. "I'm sorry. I messed up in the end, and-" "Now, don't you blame yourself." Peggy scolded. He lapsed back into silence as Peggy continued: "We lived because you did what no-one else could. And now, you've come back, given the chance to live again."

"But I don't belong here." Steve said quietly, and Peggy lifted her brows at him. "Don't you?" She countered and he looked at her. His blue eyes met her brown, and as always it was as though she was looking into his soul as she asked: "Can you tell me that you honestly regret everything you've seen since you woke up again?"

Steve paused and without intending to, his eyes flickered briefly over to the door, where Arianna would be standing waiting outside. Peggy nodded in satisfaction as she settled back into her pillows. "There." She murmured and Steve turned back to her. "It's not easy, it never is, but it can become easier if you just let it."

Steve stared thoughtfully before he murmured: "I'm sorry I didn't make that date." She chuckled and he finally gave a small one back and he said softly: "I'm glad I got to see you again, Peggy."

"I'm glad you came too, Steve." She answered with a small smile. "And I hope it won't be the last time I see you, mister." She added playfully and Steve chuckled. "I'll visit as often as I can." He promised and she smiled.

"And Arianna?" Peggy asked, and Steve nodded as he added: "If she'll agree." Peggy smiled as she noted something there in the way Steve's eyes softened and the way he smiled when he thought about Arianna. She didn't say anything about it yet- she could see that it was too soon for both Steve and Arianna- but she made a mental note to keep a watch over the pair.

She still loved Steve; it had changed over the years, as was natural with time, but she would always care for him and he would always hold a special place in her heart. And that meant she wanted him to be happy, and she could see in the small telltale hints that Arianna might have a part in making that happen. How big a part it would be, only time could tell, but Peggy thought she could guess pretty well.

But for now, she simply settled back in her pillows and said to Steve lightly: "So. How are you liking Washington?"

* * *

"How was it?" Arianna asked nervously as she drove them back towards the Triskelion to fetch Steve's belongings. Steve and Peggy had talked for almost an hour before they had to leave and let Peggy rest, but he'd barely said a word since they'd said goodbye to Peggy. It was making Arianna feel more than a little anxious.

She was afraid she'd pushed him, and while it looked like his meeting with Peggy had gone well, she was worried he might be angry with her. "Hm?" Steve asked, breaking out of his thoughts and glancing at her questioningly.

"How was it? Did it… are you okay?" She asked, her worry finally getting the better of her. Steve smiled as he realized what was probably making her so nervous, and Arianna relaxed slightly when she saw his grin.

"It was fine." He assured her and Arianna breathed a sigh of relief. She nodded, satisfied, but she was surprised when Steve added sincerely: "Thank you." She glanced at him briefly before turning back to the road as she answered lightly: "It was no problem. And it was for her as well- I knew Peggy was probably waiting to hear more about you ever since the first buzz when we finally found you in the ice."

"I suppose," Steve conceded, "but thanks for bringing me. And… for worrying about me." She glanced at him again in surprise, and she looked almost embarrassed as she turned back to the road.

"Don't mention it. I was happy to help." She muttered, and Steve grinned. He enjoyed when he could break through the composed agent and found the girl inside. Arianna pulled them into the Triskelion parking, and as they got out Steve said lightly: "We should do this again sometime; go see Peggy, I mean."

Arianna froze and she stared at Steve. "You want me to go with you?" She asked incredulously and he grinned, pleased with the reaction he'd managed to get. She was staring at him with utter surprise on her face as he said easily: "Yes. Peggy wanted to get to know you better as well."

"Me?" Arianna asked skeptically and Steve nodded, looking amused. Arianna frowned slightly and as they began to walk into the Triskelion she asked uncertainly: "Are you sure? I don't want to intrude and you two have missed enough time to be together."

"I'm sure." Steve answered with a light shrug. "You and Peggy are right: it's time I let bygones be bygones. It won't be easy, but… I want to try." He told her honestly. Arianna glanced at him, and his heart leapt a little as he saw the warmth swirling in her hazel orbs.

"I'll try to help as best I can." Arianna promised and Steve smiled. "Thanks, Ria." He repeated sincerely and she almost blushed. Turning away embarrassedly, she muttered: "Like I said, it's no problem."

Steve grinned, almost laughing at her and she made a face at him. They collected his things and as they headed back to the car, Steve reached out and took Arianna's hand. She looked at him, startled, and her eyes widened in surprise as Steve smirked mischievously.

He pulled something out of his bag and placed it into her hand, and as he let go Arianna looked at it to see a small wrapped present, complete with a bow. "It's not much." He admitted as she stared at the gift, seeming lost for words. "I didn't really know what to get, but…"

He trailed off, scratching his neck awkwardly as Arianna continued to just stare numbly. She slowly looked up from the gift in her hand and she stared at Steve, whispering in shock: "How'd you know?"

He shrugged as he replied: "I read your file before, and I remembered your birthday was June 1st." She swallowed, suddenly feeling very emotional. She looked back at the blue-wrapped box and slowly opened it, lifting the lid on the box inside to see a beautiful heart-shaped locket.

Her eyes widened as Steve shifted sheepishly and Arianna slowly lifted the locket, examining it. Small lilies were engraved into the golden-colored heart pendant and Arianna noticed the locket had been opened before. She carefully opened it and she was suddenly blinking back tears.

Inside was a picture from her 21st birthday, with Phil, Nat, Clint, and even Tony in the background. She swallowed again, as Steve said uncertainly: "Romanoff suggested it and she gave me the picture. I wasn't sure if you'd like it, and-"

He was cut off as Arianna lifted her eyes to meet his, and she whispered sincerely, her voice thick with tears: "Thank you, Steve." He relaxed a little, only to tense again in surprise as Arianna surprised even herself by leaning up and hugging the super-soldier.

Steve stood frozen for a moment before he slowly lifted his hands and uncertainly placed them around her waist. She held him tight, so overwhelmed and grateful by the gift, and Steve awkwardly patted her back. His heart thundered as he was suddenly very aware of every shaky breath she took, and he shivered a little as she murmured in his ear: "It's perfect. You have no idea how much this means to me."

She finally let go and Steve cleared his throat as he leaned back away from her. She was staring at the locket again as Steve murmured: "Well, I'm glad you like it." She smiled a little, glancing up at him through her lashes and she laughed as he added: "I guess I should listen to Romanoff more often."

Arianna shook her head in amusement, and Steve was relieved to see the tears were nowhere to be seen as she said laughingly: "Don't let Nat hear you say that, or you won't hear the end of it." She placed the locket around her neck and Steve smiled as he watched her.

He chuckled as they started walking towards the car again and he mused: "Mm, true. And she doesn't seem like the kind of person who'll forget things either." "No, she isn't." Arianna agreed, both laughing.

They arrived at by the car, when Steve stopped Arianna from climbing in the driver's seat. She looked at him in surprise and he said, sounding a little shy: "And I wanted to treat you to dinner. Both for your birthday and to thank you for everything you've done for me."

She raised a brow and then laughed, and shook her head. "Seriously, Steve, you don't have to keep thanking me. It really is my genuine pleasure; I don't just do this for my job or something. I do it because it's fun hanging out with you." She told him warmly, and Steve felt a small flutter in his chest. He firmly ignored it as he persisted: "Still, I'd like to treat you."

She laughed as she teased: "You make it sound like you usually don't pay for dinner." She'd tried every time they would eat dinner together to at least split the bill but Steve had always been rather adamant. Steve chuckled, but he pointed out: "Well, it's different if we go and you'll let me pay _without_ an argument."

Arianna laughed again, and eyed him with an amused smile. He waited and she finally relented, handing him the car keys as she said laughingly: "Sure, why not?"

"Oh, the great Aria actually gave in? What a surprise." Steve teased, making her throw a playful punch at him. He caught her hand and they shared smiles. But as they stared into each others' eyes Steve felt something stir in his chest.

Going with his gut feeling, he leaned in and murmured softly: "Happy birthday, Ria."

Her eyes widened just fractionally as he let her hand go and Arianna quickly turned away, heading quickly to the passenger side and slipping into the car. Steve climbed in as well, driving them out of the parking lot and into the night in silence. Neither said another word about the incident, Steve glad she couldn't see the faint blush that had appeared on his face as he marveled at his own bravery for acting as he had.

Little did he know Arianna was struggling to keep the same blush off her own face. She was also startled by just how affected she'd been at having his blue eyes so close to her own hazel ones. It had been by no means the first time that she'd seen them at that close proximity but for some reason, this time, it made her heartbeat pick up.


	11. One Step Forward

The month following Arianna's birthday was more peaceful than they could have hoped for, with the only noteworthy event being when Clint and Nat came down to celebrate her birthday a few days late. The pair had been on a mission, but Arianna waved off Clint's apologies. After all, it was hardly the first time they'd missed each others' birthdays. The pair had been surprised to hear Arianna had spent her birthday with Steve but didn't comment, which she was grateful for.

Steve had also been assigned his official position in SHIELD. He was in the STRIKE division, and at level 8, he outranked everyone else, making him automatically the team leader for any of the teams put together for missions. Including DELTA.

Arianna had teasingly called him 'boss' for an entire week following his assignment, laughing each time because he'd blush every time. She eventually stopped after he'd begged hard enough, deciding to take pity on him. A part of Steve wondered if he should mind that she could control him so easily, but the larger part of him was too relieved she'd finally stopped to really care.

Despite his new assignment, there had been very little missions and they actually managed to visit Peggy every week. Peggy herself enjoyed the visits, particularly as she watched the pair skirt around each other nervously. Neither really understood why Peggy would sometimes have a very amused twinkle in her eye, or rather they tried not to understand.

For Arianna, it was more subconscious as she simply ignored the occasional fluttering feeling she would get around Steve. She had never been in love before, and didn't believe she was now. Steve had evolved from an admirable hero to a good-natured friend and now perhaps even one of her best friends. He just happened to be good-looking to boot.

It was different for Steve. Like Arianna, he'd noticed her beauty the first time he'd met her, but the more he got to know her the more he saw the beauty inside. And it made his heart race every time she gave him one of her beaming smiles, the few rare times her guard was completely down. But he was still slowly adjusting to life both in the 21st century and in Washington, while juggling his SHIELD duties to deal with his rather bewildering feelings for Arianna.

He was still too uncertain in this world to be thinking of love. Or that's what he told himself. But one day, that changed- and it set in motion the events for the longest year the pair would have to go through.

* * *

 _Jul 4, 2012_

Arianna P.O.V.

Of course he was awake.

Arianna groaned in frustration, sulking on Steve's couch. She'd snuck into his apartment bright and early with the intention of waking him up and maybe cooking pancakes for breakfast. But no, he was already up and judging by the freshly washed dishes by his sink he'd had breakfast. And by the time she'd come over at 6 a.m. he had already gone for a morning run.

 _I really should've known better._ Arianna scolded herself. _The guy's a solider and recovering from PTSD. I should've known he'd probably wake up at some ungodly hour like 5 a.m. every day._ Still, her scolding was not improving her mood, only making her feel more like an idiot.

She sighed and got up, shaking out her limbs a little. No use in sitting moping any longer, and besides she had a busy day ahead of her. Her phone beeped and she checked the text, grinning as she saw the short message. _Perfect._

* * *

Steve P.O.V.

When Steve returned from his run, he paused at his front door and immediately tensed. He could hear movement inside his apartment and he briefly debated sneaking inside through his window. But as he listened harder he could hear that it was someone tinkering about in the kitchen, making no attempt to hide their presence.

Feeling a little more relaxed, he still opened his door warily. Immediately he was assaulted by the smell of baking and something cinnamony. He also detected the faintest smell of lilies and he immediately relaxed. His lips curved into a soft smile as he walked into his apartment and spotted Arianna standing in his kitchen, humming softly with her earphones plugged in.

He was astonished to find his apartment was now decorated in all-American gear, with the American flag strung up all around the walls and several blue, red, and white balloons taped to the walls or lying around the room. He raised a brow even as he grinned in amusement, pleasantly surprised as he looked back at Arianna.

She had glanced up from where she had been mixing something in a bowl and was watching him. When their eyes met, she grinned at him and placed down the bowl. She pulled out one of her earphones as she said nonchalantly: "Hi."

"Hi." Steve chuckled back as he closed the door behind him. He wandered into the kitchen as Arianna walked over to the fridge and pulled out a carton of orange juice. Steve raised a brow in surprise as he watched her hum while pouring a glass, before handing it to him.

He took it with a nod in thanks, his eyes sweeping curiously over the messy kitchen counter. "So, not that I don't appreciate you pouring me my drink and all…" Steve said slowly and Arianna grinned at him. Her eyes were shining with mirth as he shifted uncomfortably, clearly wondering what she was doing.

She laughed and teased: "Well, I'm not doing it for Independence Day, I'll say that." His lips tugged up into a shy smile, and he ducked his head just slightly in embarrassment as she laughed at him.

"Happy birthday, Steve." She told him warmly and he grinned shyly as he nodded in thanks. "And now, mister," she added as she took his empty glass from him, "you'd better shower and get dressed." He raised a brow again and as she moved to place the glass in the sink he asked curiously: "Are we on a schedule?"

She nodded, and her eyes were shining brightly as she admitted: "I was thinking we could go see Peggy today." Steve's face lit up and he nodded quickly. "Okay, then." She said cheerfully. "Go get ready- we don't want to keep her waiting."

"Yes, ma'am." He answered laughingly, and she laughed with him as he got up. Before he walked off to his bathroom though, Steve paused and he looked back at her. She looked at him questioningly and then her face softened as he added sincerely: "Thanks, Ria."

"You're welcome, Steve." She told him with a smile and he grinned before he headed off. Arianna smiled and waited, humming again as she took up her mixing again. As soon as the shower started, she texted Peggy to let the woman know they would be over in the next hour or so.

By the time Steve returned, dressed and clean, Arianna was just putting the finishing touches to a classic apple pie. He blinked in surprise, and she grinned sheepishly at him. "I told you Phil was obsessed- he used to always have apple pie on the 4th of July in your honor. I don't know how he found out, but Peggy confirmed it was your favorite."

Steve was at a loss for words, unsure what to say. Nothing he could say seemed enough to capture just how overwhelmed and grateful he was. She shifted uncertainly and finally he croaked out quietly: "Thank you."

She also blinked in surprise and she said, sounding unsure: "No problem?" "No, really, Ria." He said softly, a small smile appearing on his face. He stepped forward, standing before her and met her eyes as she peered up at him. "Thank you." He said quietly.

She stared thoughtfully at him, examining his eyes. Steve's sincere gratitude had clearly taken her off-guard and she looked a little embarrassed as she blushed. But she answered just as genuinely: "You're welcome, Steve."

They stood grinning at each other like silly teenagers before Arianna cleared her throat. "Ready to go?" She asked quickly, and he nodded, still smiling as he took the pie and the flowers she'd picked up for Peggy.

He carried them as they walked out, laughing and joking with her. Little did she know, Steve was fighting to stay light as his emotions whirled around inside. He was incredibly grateful to her, and the pie also brought back many nostalgic memories for him. Times with his mother before her untimely death, and then some occasions with Bucky. But most of all, Steve was fighting the urge that had suddenly awakened when she had blushed- the urge to kiss her.

* * *

"Oh, that was good." Peggy hummed as she placed down her empty plate. Steve nodded in agreement as Arianna laughed and answered warmly: "I'm glad you liked it. Although if I'd known you'd eat that much of it, I would've made more." She added as she looked at Steve.

He was currently on his fourth slice, eating more than three in the time it had taken Arianna and Peggy to eat one. Steve shrugged as he bit into another forkful, and as he swallowed he replied: "Hey, I'm just appreciating good food."

"Well, it's a good thing I cut Peggy's slice first before you could 'appreciate' the food." Arianna laughed. Steve grinned and Peggy watched them a little curiously. Arianna then nodded at the empty water jug beside Peggy, and she said as she picked it up: "I'm just going to go fill this. I'll be right back."

Steve nodded as Peggy smiled in thanks. Arianna grinned at them before she walked out, closing the door behind her. Steve watched her go fondly, and Peggy watched Steve shrewdly.

"You love her, don't you?" Peggy asked suddenly. Steve blinked, and he blushed just a little as Peggy teased: "Don't think I didn't notice the way you looked at her." Steve looked torn between embarrassment and confusion as he ducked his head a little, and Peggy chuckled.

"Oh, look at you." She chuckled. "You look like you did when I first you." "I don't…" He began but Peggy just raised an amused eyebrow and Steve trailed off, looking a little lost. "Don't you?" Peggy challenged kindly.

He blushed again and she smiled slyly. "I know that look, Rogers." She said softly. "I won't say it will be easy because really when is it ever?" Steve gave a small grin at that and Peggy smiled back.

"And from what I've gathered about Miss Hart, she's more than meets the eye. She's not SHIELD for nothing." Peggy added with a hint of warning, although about what Steve had no clue. But he stayed silent as Peggy told him gently: "But I think she'll be good for you. Don't let your fears hold you back."

Steve honestly had no idea how to answer that, so perhaps it was a good thing that Arianna returned not a minute later. Peggy easily returned to her cheerful chatter with the younger woman, but Steve caught her giving him a look every so often.

And when they stood to say goodbye, Peggy called meaningfully: "Happy birthday, Steve. May all your wishes… come true." She smiled as Steve went beet-red, Arianna looking between them curiously.

Steve hastily ushered Arianna out first, but not before he gave one last look at Peggy and the old woman winked cheekily at him.

* * *

"What'd Peggy mean?" Arianna asked curiously as they drove back to Steve's apartment. Steve shrugged, keeping his eyes on the road as he answered lightly: "I guess she was wishing me well because I told her I wanted to find my place here."

He struggled not to let his lie show. Technically he wasn't lying, but he wasn't really telling the truth either. But Arianna threw him an odd glance and he knew he'd failed. Lying didn't come naturally to him, and of course he wasn't going to be able to fool SHIELD's Aria.

Luckily, she seemed to deem his reasons personal and didn't push him. He was always grateful for that part about her, her patience and respect for privacy, but in this moment he thanked his lucky stars for it. He refocused as Arianna changed subjects, eyeing his hand on the steering wheel as she said: "You know, part of me is still somewhat insulted you insist on driving every time."

An amused smile tugged on his lips as he glanced over at her. Ever since her birthday when he'd driven her out for dinner, he had gradually taken over driving her car more frequently. In the end, he now drove them most places and he knew it irked her a little, but his instincts refused to let a lady work for his sake. She knew that- it was why she relented at all- but she still teased him for it. Like now.

"There is such thing as gender equality." Arianna teased, and he laughed, shaking his head. "It's just driving a car." He replied lightly in the same playful banter they'd taken up lately.

"Mm, maybe. But when it extends to 'just pulling a chair out', or 'just paying for meals', or ' _just protecting you'_ , it blurs the lines a little." Arianna teased and Steve made a face.

"I said that last one just once." He muttered and she laughed again. He grinned despite himself at the light sound, while Arianna shook her head and said, her eyes twinkling with amusement: "It was once too many. Besides, it wasn't necessary. The guy wasn't even _armed_."

Steve made a face again and she laughed at him. It had been their first mission since New York, a simple recon job in Mexico. Maybe because it was too simple, but Steve had very obviously tried to keep Arianna out of harm's way and take on most of the work himself. Including when they accidentally ran into a trio of technicians.

Steve had taken out two while Arianna made to face the one remaining techie, when Steve took that man out as well, making Arianna protest, and the damned words had escaped him. Arianna had been less than amused at the time, and he'd had to dig himself out of that hole for the whole week after they got back.

"You'll never let it go, will you?" Steve sighed and Arianna chuckled. "Nope." She popped the last syllable, and Steve sighed again but grinned when Arianna laughed again.

He was struck by an idea and he asked as he parked them in the apartment parking: "What if I asked you on my birthday?" Her smile immediately disappeared and she made a face as he smirked in triumph.

"I came over early to make breakfast, decorated your house, and made you apple pie, you don't get a birthday wish on top of that." Arianna complained as they climbed out of the car but Steve just grinned. He waited expectantly and she groaned.

"Fine." Arianna muttered and Steve laughed as they headed up the stairs towards his apartment.

"That was really easy. You know, I guess birthdays aren't so bad." Steve commented as they headed down the hallway. Arianna made another face as he continued, teasing her: "Especially since mine comes after yours so I don't have to worry about retribution for another year."

"Keep talking and there won't be another year." Arianna threatened playfully and he laughed. She smiled as well, chuckling a little as she let Steve unlock his apartment door. She stepped inside, and Steve followed her in when she suddenly slipped to the side.

Steve blinked and then jumped a little in shock as people jumped out from the bedroom hallway and from behind the furniture, shouting: "Surprise!"

Steve was rooted to the spot, staring blankly as Arianna grinned at him from her spot by the wall. Her eyes were shining with delight as she asked happily: "Did we surprise you?"

He couldn't answer, just nodding numbly as the others laughed, pleased with themselves. Steve slowly looked around to see Natasha, Clint, Tony, and even Bruce. Before he could say anything, Tony quipped: "Not exactly my idea of a party but Ria insisted."

"I think this has been the most demure entrance I've ever seen from Tony." Arianna commented, sending a playful wink at the rather tired-looking man as Tony rolled his eyes. Steve was still somewhat shocked and Clint chuckled.

"I think we scared him dumb." He commented and Natasha added dryly: "You'd think it'd be harder to surprise Captain America." Arianna laughed as Steve finally seemed to find his voice and he asked slowly: "How did you guys all get here?"

"His first words, and he wants us gone already." Tony mocked. Steve rolled his eyes as Arianna laughed, shaking her head at the genius. Bruce interjected as he explained: "Arianna called."

Steve glanced at Arianna, who was feigning an innocent expression, as Tony took over by adding: "Well, it was the kid who asked, so how could we refuse? Rhodey wanted to come, but he had some top-secret government thing to do. Again. And of course Goldilocks couldn't be expected to come, what with the whole god and hammer thing. But hey, the rest of the team made it."

"Yeah…" Steve began, and Clint added: "We've been making plans around this for a while actually. Your birthday's not exactly a secret." "Stark wanted to do a big Avengers July 4th thing, but Ria got him to change his mind." Natasha chimed in.

"We can totally still go for it though. Just saying." Tony added. Steve was feeling a little overwhelmed but he smiled at last. "No, this is good. Thanks, you guys." He said sincerely.

"Damn it." Tony pretended to sigh. Arianna rolled her eyes at him fondly, and he winked at her. Natasha spoke up: "Thank Ria. She planned all of this, besides toning Stark down. And you can be grateful she did, because he doesn't listen to anyone else."

"You know, if you were trying to be offensive, it wasn't. I take that as a compliment." Tony interjected. "Also, digging the hair, Cap." Tony teased, and Steve blinked, his hand automatically moving to touch the shorter hair.

"Thanks?" He said warily, trying to keep up with Tony's random conversation bouncing, and Arianna chuckled as she ruffled it fondly. He had decided to cut it into a more cropped style after receiving his SHIELD assignment. It had been another small step towards the 21st century and finding his place in the present. Arianna added coaxingly: "Steve, come on in- you're still standing in the doorway."

He slowly stepped inside, and the others crowded around to give him hugs, pats, and birthday wishes. Steve accepted all of it, still apparently slightly shell-shocked although he was starting to relax. Glancing around, he could also see his dining table was covered with food and there was a small pile of birthday presents on one of the chairs. And in the centre was also a large birthday cake that he suspected was Tony's doing.

He could tell Arianna had probably been very specific about the design because it was thankfully just his Captain America shield and not some appalling design like a pin-up girl or something. Steve really wouldn't have put it past Tony. But either she hadn't been as specific with the words on the cake or Tony had ignored those instructions.

That said, Steve was a little amused and annoyed to see the words 'Happy 94th Birthday Capsicle, Defender of Senior Citizens' written in bold red icing. Tony saw him looking and he asked gleefully: "Do you like it? Arianna wouldn't budge on the design," _I knew it_ , Steve thought briefly, "but I chose the words. Very apt I think."

Arianna sighed: "Sorry. I couldn't stop him since he was the one paying for the cake." "You love me really." Tony quipped before Steve could say anything and Arianna teased: "All that genius, just to poke fun at your teammates."

"What else would I use it for?" Tony shot back. Steve interrupted before it became a teasing war, saying sincerely: "It's great. Thanks, Tony."

Tony's eyes widened, and Arianna laughed while Steve snorted as Tony lifted his hands in a fighting stance and cried: "Why's he thanking me so nicely? Who are you, and what have you done with our Capsicle?"

"Hilarious." Steve said flatly, and Arianna laughed again. Tony beamed, relaxing with a friendly wink, while Natasha interrupted: "Come on, I'm starving."

"Cake first." Arianna and Clint interjected at the same time, making the pair look at each other and then burst out laughing.

"Great, the kid and Legolas are teaming up already." Tony sighed, making them laugh harder. Natasha was also grinning and even Bruce had a small, nervous smile. Steve's lips tugged up into a smile, feeling a familiar and yet foreign warmth spreading through his body as he watched his new team fondly.


	12. Love?

Steve said farewell to Clint, the last of the group to leave the apartment after he shared a brief hug with Arianna, and then closed the door. Tony had needed to leave in the late afternoon, taking Bruce with him back to New York, to spend some time with Pepper in the evening. Natasha and Clint had left soon after, needing to get back to base before nightfall.

Steve looked back to see Arianna already starting to clean up as she started stacking the empty plates. He took a moment to fully appreciate her presence and everything she'd done for him, before he walked over to help her.

"Need a hand?" He asked playfully as he picked up the plates she'd stacked and she grinned. Looking over at him, Arianna teased: "Oh, Captain America, whatever would I do if you hadn't saved me from those dishes."

"Probably break them with your bare hands." He chuckled and she laughed. Shaking her head, she picked up another pile and they walked over to the kitchen, dumping the dishes into the sink. Before they could go back to the table, Steve touched Arianna's arm, getting her attention.

She looked at him with curious hazel eyes, which blinked rapidly as Steve said sincerely: "Thank you, Ria. For everything." Her lips curved up into a smile and she replied warmly: "You're welcome, Steve."

He nodded and made his way back to the table when Arianna changed course, moving to rummage in her handbag. He glanced at her curiously and then it was his turn to blink in surprise as she produced a blue-wrapped box. Arianna held it out to him, saying in a nervous tone: "Happy birthday, Steve."

He stared and she cleared her throat, saying more confidently: "I had to really think about what to get you, and it's not much but I hope you like it." She trailed off a little at the end and he had to smile. Taking it from her, he promised: "I'm sure I will."

She seemed to hold her breath as he peeled off the wrapping paper and opened the box inside. Steve froze, staring down in amazement.

"It wasn't just from me." Arianna admitted as Steve slowly reached in, his hand curling around the chain. "Phil had these kept safe, and I got Director Fury to give me clearance to get it for you and I went to get them cleaned and polished. I guess it's a four-way present from us three… and Peggy."

Steve glanced at her, his eyes swimming with emotion as he held up his old army dog tags. Arianna went on, starting to ramble nervously: "I asked her opinion, just in case, and she thought it was a good idea, but your original chain was broken so she gave us her old one that she'd kept preserved, to keep it somewhat authentic, and-"

Arianna broke off as Steve's face broke into a smile. "Thank you, Arianna." He said quietly and she fidgeted.

"You're welcome." Arianna answered at last just as quietly. Steve stared down at her, gazing down into her hazel eyes. She met his eyes for a moment before she broke away, quickly going back to cleaning up after the party. Steve stayed where he was standing as he slowly looked down at his dog tags.

His thumb rubbed along the familiar tags. When he'd first opened the box and seen them, he'd initially been overwhelmed by the memories they brought back of his time in the war and the Howling Commandos. But he was soon overcome by how warm Arianna made him feel, and how just looking into her eyes made his heart beat faster while his stomach clenched pleasantly.

Steve started as he realized that Peggy was right. Without meaning to, he had fallen irrevocably in love with Arianna Hart.

* * *

 _December 31, 2012_

Arianna laughed almost hysterically as Tony pranced about with the completely stabilized and healthy Pepper. He'd corrected the Extremis formula following the whole Christmas fiasco (with some help from Bruce and Arianna), and now they were happy to say Pepper was completely cured. Arianna only regretted that she had been unable to help before that.

She and Steve had been in Turkey during Christmas, following the wild goose chase the Mandarin had managed to send SHIELD on. By the time they'd been alerted to the President's capture and headed hastily to - of all places - Miami, Tony and Rhodey had already saved everyone and Pepper had taken out Killian, or Arianna should say the real Mandarin. Steve had had to be contented with assisting in the Vice President's arrest, while Tony had whisked Arianna away with him to save Pepper from Extremis's unstable and destructive state.

But now, on New Years Eve, it was all behind them. And Arianna grinned to herself as she remembered something Tony had confided in her: when all the year end parties were over and after things quieted down a little, he was planning to remove his arc reactor.

It was a bold move, but Arianna could see that it was his first step towards coming to terms with what had happened in New York. It would also help him fully accept his role as an Avenger, no longer just Iron Man, while properly caring for Pepper. And Arianna was proud of him for his decision.

Although right now he was just downright hilarious as he twirled Pepper around the kitchen. The Avengers Tower (as the reconstructed Stark Tower was now to be called) was still mostly unfinished on the top floors, but the lower floors were rebuilt and fully renovated. Tony had made impressive work of the new floors, changing the schematics so that it could become a home for all the Avengers.

They were currently on floor 91, now made into a communal kitchen, linked to a large living room space with open bar that would put any club to shame. The top three floors still had work to be done, but Tony was planning to make the next two floors into the Avengers lab, and the general meetings rooms, and finally have the Avengers' own personal hangar make up the very top floor. Arianna had to admit as she leant against the extremely comfy, extremely expensive-looking leather couch that Tony was doing an incredible job.

Steve, Bruce, and Rhodey were leaning against the bar, also watching Tony with amusement, while Nat chuckled slightly as she lounged beside Arianna. The redhead leaned in closer to whisper in Arianna's ear: "Did you call Clint?"

The younger agent's eyes flickered over briefly, before refocusing on Tony. Nat leaned back, satisfied with her answer. But this time Arianna leaned in, asking quietly: "Are you sure you're okay not being with him this year?"

Nat's eyes also slid over briefly, before she shrugged. "Nah, I wouldn't have given up seeing this for anything." Nat answered lightly, nodding at Tony. Arianna grinned a little, nodding as well in agreement. While she missed Barton, she found she really was enjoying time with the other Avengers as well.

Her eyes moved to Steve briefly at that thought, before she caught herself and quickly looked away. She refocused on Tony, laughing as he dipped Pepper, making her squeal. She was so busy chuckling at their antics, she missed the look of surprise and slight worry that passed over Natasha's face as she glanced between the brunette woman, and the only blond man in the room.

* * *

Some time later, Arianna breathed a sigh of relief as she leaned against the balcony railings and felt the fresh air. The party was still in full swing inside, but she needed some time in peace and quiet.

Tony had made the mistake of daring Nat into a drinking game- at the moment, the redhead was chugging Vodka like it was beer, with Bruce watching in a mix or awe and concern, while Tony was singing horribly off key as he splashed brandy everywhere. Pepper was trying to control him, while Rhodey was passed out on the loveseat, the first to have called quits on the game.

"Hey."

Arianna turned in surprise at Steve's voice, and she smiled slightly as he walked out to join her on the balcony. Nodding inside at where Nat and Tony were now fighting over who had actually won (although it was clearly Nat), Arianna asked teasingly: "You aren't joining? You'd beat them all, hands down."

Steve chuckled and he shook his head. Looking back inside he pointed out easily: "They're having fun, no need for me to spoil it. I doubt even drunk, Tony would try to argue he'd won against me in a drinking match."

"Hm, I wouldn't be too sure." Arianna joked. "Even drunk, he can be insufferable at having to have the last word." She nodded at where Nat had begun smiling in amusement, almost laughing, as Tony continued to argue that he'd won their bet.

"I guess I see your point." Steve laughed, and Arianna chuckled with him. She leaned back onto the balcony to look out over New York, her gaze softening as she took in the bustling city. Steve joined her, although he was watching her, silently fighting a losing battle.

Arianna spoke, breaking him from his thoughts: "Do you ever still want to go back to how it used to be?" He glanced at her in surprise and she gestured at the city where he'd been born and raised. Steve turned to also look out at New York shining brightly below them, this city that he'd spent a year after waking up in and never felt like he was home anymore.

"Sometimes." He answered honestly. Arianna's face was pensive, although it took on a hint of surprise when Steve continued: "But now, most of the time, no. There are a lot of good things today that we didn't have back then. I'm grateful to be alive."

He paused, glancing at Arianna thoughtfully while the woman nodded, saying jokingly: "Maybe it's because we're not in the middle of World War II." He chuckled at that, and she grinned at him.

It dropped when she turned back to look out at the city, and Steve watched her. He finally asked curiously: "What about you?" She glanced over at him in surprise, and he elaborated: "Do you miss home?"

Arianna's eyes widened infinitesimally, before she quickly looked away and murmured quietly: "Sometimes."

There was a brief pause, and then Steve asked softly: "What do you miss most?" He'd never really asked her about her past; while most of her history was recorded in her file, he'd never pried further. Partly because he felt guilty knowing he knew things from her file that she probably would rather people didn't know, and partly because he'd often caught a familiar lonely look in her eyes.

Steve knew that look, one he'd worn so many times despite having Bucky there- it spoke of loss. Although, he didn't quite know which loss: the loss of a family, or the loss of her own innocence after coming to SHIELD? _Or maybe it's both._ He thought sadly.

Steve was broken from his thoughts as Arianna began to speak again, her voice quiet as she answered: "My mom."

Surprise flitted across Steve's face as Arianna admitted: "Both my parents used to be pretty sickly, and we couldn't afford the medicines to help cure them. My dad died when I was much younger, so I never really knew him. But my mom, she tried. She'd stay out all night, working various shifts to keep us afloat, even though her health didn't allow it."

She paused slightly, and Steve didn't interrupt, just listening as she continued: "I started working when I was fourteen, just small things like helping out in the back of restaurants when they really needed it. I started getting more part-times after I was sixteen, and Clint and Phil actually hired me from one of those jobs, after they rescued me from an assassin sent to kill me."

Steve nodded- this part he knew. He'd been surprised, when he read her file, on the circumstances surrounding her hiring and subsequent successes. Arianna continued: "But even then, I knew I'd always have my mom to go back home to. I never told her what I was really doing- she'd probably have died from shock then and there- but I remember her surprise when I came home one day with enough money to send her to the hospital for proper care."

Arianna chuckled as she added: "My mom thought I'd robbed a bank or something." Steve chuckled, nodding, and Arianna continued with a small sigh: "It took ages to convince her to go, but she finally relented and got herself checked in. Unfortunately, years of sickness just couldn't be cured, but it was only when I was about twenty years old that she passed away."

"I'm sorry." Steve murmured, and Arianna shook her head. "No, don't be." She answered quietly. Steve glanced at her again, and she smiled as she told him softly: "She passed on after great suffering, and I'm just glad she's safe now."

He nodded slowly, understanding her mentality more because of his own personal experiences. Arianna finished quietly: "I am glad she's no longer in pain, but I still miss her. That apple pie from your birthday," she glanced at Steve with a small smile, "it was her recipe actually. I figured it wasn't just my personal bias when Phil really enjoyed it as well, but it's always been my favourite."

Steve blinked in surprise, and Arianna's grin became a little wry as she turned back to look out over New York.

"So, now that my sob story's over," she teased and Steve snorted slightly, "what do you want to do? We can continue to share our war stories, or we could go back inside with everyone."

Steve smiled a little, before glancing back inside. Nat was busy trying to engage Bruce into a drinking game as Pepper tended to Tony, who was not yet passed out but if his spread-eagled form on the couch was any indication, he'd get there soon.

Turning back to look out over New York, Steve answered: "Nah, let's stay here for a while. It feels nice to breathe the fresh air, and despite it being different it does feel good to be back in New York for a while."

"Washington not doing it for you?" Arianna teased, and then she was surprised when Steve turned to her and replied with utmost seriousness: "No, it's got its own perks, and it has a definite advantage."

Her breath caught, and her eyes went wide as Steve's blue eyes pierced her own. Swallowing hard, Arianna asked faintly: "Peggy?"

Steve almost sighed, although he simply shook his head as he continued to fix her with his stare. Arianna's heartbeat picked up and she stared at him mutely, completely thrown. His gaze flickered down to her lips, and Arianna's eyes widened even more in panic. Her whole body froze as she reeled internally.

But as Steve slowly began to lean forward, his eyes flickering back down to her lips, her body seemed to lean in to meet him, and Arianna broke out of her frozen state as her mind caught up to her. Fear gripped her, and she backed away quickly, even as hurt and then concern flickered across Steve's face.

"Ria?" He asked, puzzled by the look of utmost confusion and loss on her face. She opened her mouth, although she had no idea what she could or should say, when suddenly fireworks went off in the distance, making them both jump violently.

"Happy New Year!" Tony screamed from inside, breaking off in hysterical laughter while Pepper tried to control him. The pair on the balcony outside, glanced inside, startled, before they turned back to each other. Steve frowned as he saw a flicker of fear pass over Arianna's face before she pulled her face into a blank mask.

But her usually pristine cold face had cracks and Steve could see an underlying panic as she breathed hastily: "Happy New Year, Steve."

Before he could say anything, she whirled around and all but raced off the balcony, heading straight for the bathroom. Steve remained frozen on the balcony, wondering what had just happened.

Neither noticing a pair of green-blue eyes watching them worriedly from a corner of the room.

* * *

Arianna locked the bathroom door, leaning on it heavily as her breathing continued to come quickly. Steve's actions had made her panic, but it was her own reaction that had frightened her.

She held a hand to her chest, her breathing still hard and her eyes wide with horror. She'd been so firmly convinced and tried to stay convinced, ignoring all the signs, that she was not falling in love with Captain America. And she had been right somewhat- she wasn't _falling_ in love. She was _in_ love.

The thought terrified her and her heart hammered now with dread as she slowly thought it aloud to herself. She was in love with Steve Rogers. And it seemed… Steve Rogers was in love with her. And it took all Arianna had to not break down into tears right then and there. _He can't be._

* * *

 _January 6, 2013_

 _Bam!_

Steve sighed as another punching bag went flying across the room, hitting the opposite wall and bursting. That was the third one that day, and the twelfth one that week. He hadn't been this bad since he'd first come to Washington.

But given how antsy he had been, he supposed it was only to be expected. And given that the reason he'd been fine the last six months was now the reason for his anxiety, it was actually a miracle he wasn't breaking more than three bags a day. _Damn it, Ria._ Steve thought tiredly as he walked over to the bench.

Ever since New Years, Arianna had been pointedly avoiding him. It wasn't even that she refused to speak to him- she just simply disappeared, and no matter where Steve looked she was never there. Not even in her apartment. Steve had the sneaking suspicion that she was sleeping at the Triskelion when he left for the day.

It frustrated him no end. As though her reaction hadn't been bewildering enough- Steve still didn't understand why she'd seemed like she was going to respond to him before she retreated. And her expression, well it worried him. She'd looked absolutely terrified before she'd brought herself under some control.

As he sat unwrapping his hands and pondering his current dilemma, Steve tensed. His head shot up quickly towards the door, and he relaxed as he saw it was only Natasha. The redhead was leaning in the doorway, eyebrow raised as she took in the sand spilling out onto the gym ground from the split punching bag.

"You know, someone's going to have to clean that up now." She pointed out and Steve sighed. He muttered as he returned to unwrapping his hands: "I'll clean it up."

"You don't have to." Natasha pointed out, and Steve just shrugged noncommittally. The Russian assassin watched as Steve finished unwrapping his hands and chucked the bandages into his gym bag. As Steve reached to grab his water bottle, she suddenly piped up: "I don't blame you for falling for her."

Steve's eyes shot over to the redhead warily as his hand paused and his shoulders tensed. Natasha ignored his look as she went on pointedly: "Arianna is strong, smart, and at the most basic level a good person. We all know that, it's why we like her."

"What's your point?" Steve asked suspiciously, and Natasha answered, her face emotionless: " _We_ like her. She doesn't, sometimes."

Steve's eyes narrowed, but as he opened his mouth, Natasha cut in as she continued: "She's been through hell and back already." Natasha warned. "She recovered but a shadow like that will never leave. And if you don't approach this carefully, she'll lash out."

"I can't exactly approach it carefully when she refuses to even be in the same room as me anymore." Steve pointed out snappishly. Natasha simply gave him a look and answered calmly, but there was a warning undercurrent to her tone as she said: "I'm just saying, if you aren't careful, you'll find yourself worse off."

With that, the redhead left without a backward glance. Steve ground his teeth- what was it with agents and not looking back as they left? His hand continued to hover over his water bottle as he deliberated before he gave up and dropped his hand, instead leaning forward and running a frustrated hand down his face.

*A/N Curveball!


	13. Two Steps Back

_January 17, 2013_

Steve stormed through the Triskelion, completely fed up. He'd thought about Natasha's words and grudgingly decided that maybe she was right. Maybe he needed to talk with Arianna calmly. Of course, that was easier said than done, especially when it was virtually impossible to talk with said woman at all, let alone calmly.

He'd tried to be patient, looking for her every day in his free time. But two weeks was more than any sane person could search through silence, and Steve was at the end of his patience. Today, he'd reported himself on break to Fury and he stormed through the whole building. He was determined to find Arianna if it was the last thing he did.

Steve scoured through the entire building, going through every room on each floor. He finally headed down to the training rooms, and his wearied heart picked up as he heard the distinct thunks of knives hitting targets. Steve walked through the doorway just as Arianna threw the last knife, hitting a direct bull's-eye.

Her head whipped around as she heard his footsteps, and her face blanked in shock and her shoulders tensed. Her hazel eyes were fixed warningly on him as she stood, sweat pouring down her face as her shoulders heaved from her workout.

Steve walked over slowly, meeting her eyes evenly on her even though his own muscles tightened as he read the strain in her eyes. He noticed, making his muscles tense even further, that she wasn't wearing her locket, the one he'd given to her for her birthday. He'd never seen her take it off, and it made him even uneasier as he came to a stop before her.

"So," Steve began as he folded his arms expectantly, "mind telling me what's been going on?" "Nothing's been going on." Arianna answered, but her tone was cold and Steve's eyes narrowed. He'd heard her use that tone before, but she'd never had to use it with him since they became friends.

"Then how come you've been avoiding me?" Steve demanded and immediately her face filled with tension. She was trying to keep her face as emotionless as possible but he could see her anxiety through the cracks as she began tightly: "I've just been busy, I'm not-"

"Don't you dare lie to me." Steve warned sharply. She fell silent as he took a deep breath and Steve tried to keep his tone even as he continued: "I know you've been avoiding me on purpose, but I really need to talk to you. About what happened at New Year-"

"Nothing happened." Arianna said somewhat sharply. Steve's eyes narrowed in anger, but her eyes were equally as flinty as she said tersely: "Fine, I'll admit I didn't really want to see you. I was worried you might be getting the wrong message, so I thought I'd us a favour."

Steve's heart clenched at her words, but his eyes were still narrowed as he stared deep into her eyes. They were cold, no hint of the warmth he was used to. Steve's jaw locked and he bit out: "Is that really what you think? Are you sure you're not just scared of actually caring for someone?"

"I care for people." Arianna answered shortly, and Steve said in exasperation: "You know what I mean. Ria, I'm being serious, I l-"

"Love is for children." Arianna interrupted tensely and Steve snapped back, annoyed: "Is that you or Romanoff talking?"

"This is me, and if you thought anything else, you don't know me." Arianna shot back. But Steve's eyes were locked on hers, and her eyes betrayed her as they filled with a hint of fear and desperation.

 _She'll lash out._ Natasha's words echoed in his head, and Steve realized this might be what the redheaded assassin was talking about.

As he deliberated, he was suddenly aware of how close she was. In their anger and agitation, both had leaned slightly forward and Arianna's face was almost level with his. She also seemed to become aware of how close they were and Steve saw her eyes dart down to his mouth.

Arianna swallowed, her mouth suddenly feeling very dry as she lifted her eyes back to Steve's. And before either of them could really think about what they were doing, Steve had leaned down, closing the small gap between their faces.

And then he was kissing her- hard. Arianna retaliated by kissing him back just as deeply, the tension making her crack and her yearning breaking through just as Steve's had.

His body pressed mercilessly against hers, pushing them backwards until she was flattening her back against the wall as his forceful kiss made her head tilt slightly back. Teeth grazed as their lips briefly battled, breaths coming in gasps. They were feeling lightheaded, their whirlwind emotions fueling a deep passion as they kissed.

But then their minds caught up to their actions. Steve's kiss faltered just slightly, becoming slightly softer, before it ended in a grunt as Arianna's fist slammed into his jaw. He winced, his head shifting slightly to the side from the force of her punch. He grasped his jaw in shock and some hurt as he glanced at her, and then he blinked.

Arianna's face was completely ashen, but more than that, for the briefest of moments, Steve saw a look of utmost fear flash across her face. And then it was gone, and before Steve could say anything, Arianna did the only thing she could.

She ran.

Without a backward glance, she'd disappeared out the gym door, brown hair flying behind her, before Steve could even open his mouth. Steve was left to stare after her as he clutched his face and wondered what on earth he was supposed to do now.

* * *

Arianna sprinted as hard and as fast as she could, not caring where she was going as she rushed up various stairs. All she knew was that she needed to get as far away from the gym, and Steve, as she could.

She finally burst through a set of doors, blinking as she found herself on the roof. Typical. Her hands were shaking badly as she lifted a hand to brush her wild hair out of her face, and then she lowered her hand to her mouth.

It was still tingling from the feeling of Steve's mouth on hers, and while a part of her was elated and warmed by the feeling, all she could really think of was how close to crying she was. Tears swam in her eyes and Arianna sank to her knees, her breathing slowing but her heart still racing.

She stayed up on the roof, just staring blankly up at the sky as she struggled to figure out what to do from then on.

* * *

 _January 18, 2013_

Arianna marched up to the apartment, knocking sharply. She waited, hearing a shuffling from inside before the door opened carefully. Steve poked his head out and his face coloured with surprise as he asked incredulously: "Ria?"

"I need to talk to you." She said firmly, and he frowned. Stepping back to let her in, he muttered: "Come on in, then."

She walked past, not looking at him as she made her way into his apartment. So she missed his wince as Steve closed the door and followed her inside. Arianna stood in the middle of his living room, her arms folded and her legs planted apart. Steve walked in to stand opposite her warily.

This was not the way he'd pictured them 'talking' and certainly not the way he'd expected her to confront him about what had happened the day before. Truth be told, he wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but he hadn't expected for the cold agent to appear before him once more. He blinked in shock when Arianna finally spoke.

"We agree, it was an accident, and it never happened." Arianna said coldly, her tone leaving no room for argument. Steve's brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed in anger.

"Well, I say it did happen." Steve bit out as his jaw clenched. The tension in the room thickened even more as Arianna simply said flatly: "What are you looking for, Captain?"

His hands curled into fists at the implication, but then he was almost winded as she continued impassively: "Because if you're looking for a sleeping buddy, I don't do that."

Steve's eyes blazed in anger but she remained cold, no hint of fire as she went on flatly: "And if you're looking for love or a 'special someone', sorry but I don't do that either."

He tensed at the implication. Her words hurt, and they cut deeply but at the same time he couldn't shake the feeling that they were lies. Steve asked, trying to keep calm: "Did it really mean nothing to you?"

"It was a hot kiss from a good-looking man; I'm not a prude." She replied flatly, and his jaw clenched. He answered, hurling the words at her: "So that's it? Are you really going to try and tell me you're that shallow?"

Her eyes narrowed, and Steve spat: "Who are you trying to fool, me or yourself?" "You don't know me as well as you think, Captain." Arianna said stiffly. His hands were almost shaking and his knuckles were white, he was clutching his fists so tightly as Steve answered evenly: "Don't I?"

"No, you don't." Arianna answered quietly. She met his frustrated gaze evenly as she told him firmly: "You might have thought you did, but if you thought for one second that I believed in love, then you're mistaken."

Steve blinked, slightly taken aback, and his heart sank as Arianna finished pointedly: "You were a good friend, but I can't and I won't give more than that."

"Well, sorry for my mistake then." Steve snapped, feeling her words burning into him. Her eyes finally flared slightly as she growled: "I don't want an apology. I want you to admit it was nothing, because it was nothing."

They stood in a silent standoff before Steve finally muttered, grudgingly: "Fine." Arianna nodded as she repeated tersely: "Fine."

The pair faced each other for a moment longer before Arianna broke eye contact. She moved stiffly but swiftly passed Steve, walking out of his apartment and he made no move to stop her. But as soon as the door closed behind Arianna, he let out a deep sigh.

Sinking into his sofa, Steve leaned his head in his hands. He sat unmoving even as the sun set, just silently dealing with his heartbreak even in the darkness.

*A/N Eek, don't hate me! (Hides) I promise, this doesn't last! The next chapter will start on Captain America: Winter Soldier, and the reason for Arianna's behvaiour shall be revealed~ Because this was so short, I'll be posting the next chapter shortly! Stay tuned!


	14. Tension

_June 25, 2013_

It had probably been the longest six months for Arianna, and that was saying something. She was exhausted, both mentally and physically. Having to deal with the aftermath of her conflict with Steve had left her completely drained emotionally, and it was taking an effect on her mind and body.

While she knew better than to let personal feelings get in the way of missions, she found herself tiring much quicker than usual. Not that it was any surprise really.

After one such exhausting day when she'd gone home with the full intention of just collapsing in misery, however, Fury called Arianna.

"Aria." She answered, and he ordered curtly: "Go secure."

Arianna frowned, but quickly did as he said, switching her phone onto secure. The phone itself was Tony's design, and she'd tweaked it herself to ensure it could never be hacked. She confirmed: "Secure."

"I need you to do something important." Fury told her and Arianna frowned. "Sir?" She asked and he said flatly: "We have a mole in SHIELD."

Arianna's face blanked, shock making her entire body freeze.

"A mole?" Arianna repeated numbly and Fury said grimly: "I won't say much more over the phone- I want you to come in at three in the morning so that I can pass you the details myself. I suspect it won't take you too long, but I want this mole found and out. Understood?"

"Understood, sir." Arianna answered firmly. Fury cut off and she breathed deeply, getting up. _There goes my rest_. She thought wryly although the thought was tinged with anxiety. A mole in SHIELD was unheard of for good reasons. They had the best techies and security- the idea of someone getting past the staff screenings was worrying to say the least.

 _Looks like I'm in for a long week_. Arianna mused as she thought about her next steps. _But at least it will be good distraction from… current affairs._ She thought, avoiding thinking about a certain golden-haired Captain determinedly.

Her resolve faltered slightly however as she spotted her dresser and remembered the locket tucked away inside the drawer. Her face scrunched up and she was suddenly fighting to breathe as she felt the tears she'd been pushing back for months threaten to fall. _How did it get to this?_ She wondered miserably.

* * *

 _June 26, 2013_

Steve P.O.V.

Steve was feeling agitated. Again. Since January, and particularly since Arianna had returned from wherever it was she'd disappeared to for three weeks, things had gone from bad to worse between them. She remained distant and cold, and Steve had made no attempt to reduce that distance. In fact, he was now just as actively trying to avoid her.

But despite what he'd said, he couldn't shake the painful tugging in his heart- it wasn't an accident, and he wasn't sorry it happened, not in that way. He was sorry because it had caused a larger rift between him and Arianna, but he wasn't sorry he'd done it. Because even now, when remembered the feel of her body on his, his lips would tingle and his heart beat a little faster.

Unable to sleep any longer, Steve decided to just go for a run. The sun was just starting to rise, casting a faint pink hue in the sky as Steve left his apartment. He'd just started his laps around the city, when he spotted another figure ahead. That was unusual, no-one else was usually up at this time.

Steve murmured as he passed the man: "On your left." The man just continued on his morning jog, but Steve soon made his lap and spotted the man ahead of him again. "On your left." He called, and the man replied lightly as he jogged: "Uh-huh, on my left. Got it."

Steve ran on without really paying attention but he soon ran his lap and was running up to the man again. The man was starting to get annoyed, and Steve saw him glance back at the sound of Steve's running steps.

"Don't say it, don't say it." The man muttered but Steve just muttered: "On your left."

"Come on!" The man shouted, annoyed, and Steve was faintly amused to hear the man speed up, trying to catch up with him but the man had to give up pretty quickly, already tired from his morning jog. He wondered who the man was, and decided to find out. He seemed to have a sense of humor, and Steve thought he recognized a fellow soldier in the man.

As he finished his last lap, he spotted the man sitting against a tree, clutching his sides as he tried to catch his breath. "Need a medic?" Steve called lightly as he walked up, and the man glanced at him before chuckling.

As Steve walked to stop beside the man, the man retorted: ": I need a new set of lungs. Dude, you just ran like thirteen miles in thirty minutes." "I guess I got a late start." Steve joked and the man chuckled again.

"Oh, really?" The man asked amusedly. He joked: "You should be ashamed of yourself. You should take another lap." He gestured around, and then paused. He glanced back at Steve and jested: "Did you just take it? I assume you just took it."

"What unit are you with?" Steve asked him curiously, and sure enough the man replied: "Fifty-eighth, Para-rescue. But now I'm working down at the VA. Sam Wilson." He held up a hand in greeting, and Steve took it as he introduced: "Steve Rogers."

He helped Sam up as the man mused: "I kind of put that together." He looked at Steve and teased: "Must have freaked you out coming home after the whole defrosting thing." Steve sighed, and joked back lightly: "It takes some getting used to."

Unfortunately, the conversation reminded him painfully about why he'd been running so hard this morning. His good mood from meeting Sam dropped a little, and he greeted the other man: "It's good to meet you, Sam."

He turned to leave but paused as Sam asked: "It's your bed, right?"

Steve turned back astonished as he asked the other man: "What's that?" "Your bed, it's too soft." Sam clarified.

Steve faced the other man in surprise as Sam went on: "When I was over there I sleep on the ground and used rock for pillows, like a caveman. Now I'm home, lying in my bed, and it's like…"

He shrugged, unable to find the right words and Steve supplied as he crossed his arms, somewhat amused: "Lying on a marshmallow. I feel like I'm gonna sink right to the floor." Sam smiled a little as he nodded, the two in mutual understanding.

Steve asked him curiously: "How long?" "Two tours." Sam replied, a little grimly. Steve nodded, once again understanding, and Sam commented as he glanced at Steve: "You must miss the good old days, huh?"

Steve shrugged as he replied: "Well, things aren't so bad." He tried to ignore the glaringly obvious thought in his mind as he continued lightly: "Food's a lot better, we used to boil everything."

Sam chuckled, and Steve went on thoughtfully: "No polio is good. Internet," he remembered, "so helpful. I've been reading that a lot trying to catch up."

He once again fought a grimace- the only reason he was using the Internet was because since his and Arianna's non-fight, they hadn't gone out anywhere at all. Really, the only times he saw her were during missions. And she was always cold, treating him exactly as he'd seen her treat countless other agents before.

Sam broke him from his morose thoughts as he suggested: "Marvin Gaye, 1972, 'Trouble Man' soundtrack. Everything you've missed jammed into one album."

Steve nodded, pulling out his notebook and he said lightly: "I'll put it on the list." He added it to his list of things he still needed to look up while Sam watched amused.

His phone suddenly buzzed and Steve pulled it out to see a message from Natasha. 'Mission alert. Extraction imminent. Meet at the curb. :)'

He wrinkled his nose a little- Natasha had started making it a point to add emoticons to her messages because Steve still had no idea how they worked. It was a little joke she had established, but he could she her mocking expression every time he saw one of the damn things.

But he just said lightly to Sam: "Alright, Sam, duty calls. Thanks for the run." They shook hands, and Steve added jokingly: "If that's what you wanna call running."

Sam raised his brows and he mocked: "Oh, that's how it is?" "Oh, that's how it is." Steve teased, and Sam laughed as he mused: "Okay."

As Steve turned to leave, Sam called after him jokingly: "Any time you wanna stop by the VA, make me look awesome in front of the girl at the front desk, just let me know."

"I'll keep it in mind." Steve replied with a small grin as they heard a car engine, and Sam smiled and nodded in farewell as Steve turned to find Natasha pulling up in a black sports car. She lowered the passenger seat window and called to them: "Hey, fellas. Either one of you know where the Smithsonian is? I'm here to pick up a fossil."

"It's hilarious." Steve said flatly as he walked over, and he climbed into the car as Sam gave Natasha and the car an appreciative look. "How you doing?" Sam asked Natasha flirtatiously, and Natasha just replied easily: "Hey."

Steve almost rolled his eyes, but he just turned to Sam as he said with a small shrug: "You can't run everywhere." "No, you can't." Sam agreed with a smirk on his face. Natasha returned the smirk before she stepped on the gas and sped them away quickly, Sam watching them leave.

* * *

Steve stood in the jet with the STRIKE team, Natasha, and Arianna. The tension was rolling off the pair while Natasha almost rolled her eyes at what she saw as a pair of sulky teenagers. They were currently flying over the Indian Ocean, and Arianna stood beside Nat, between the Russian assassin and the STRIKE team leader Brock Rumlow.

Steve stood on the redhead's other side with his arms folded, while the rest of the STRIKE team stood behind the three, all of them watching as Rumlow explained the situation on the screen: "The target is a mobile satellite launch platform: The Lemurian Star. It was sending up their last payload when pirates took them, ninety-three minutes ago."

"Any demands?" Steve asked tersely, although it was debatable whether his tension was due more to Arianna's presence or the situation. Nat was betting on the former though. Rumlow replied: "A billion and a half."

Steve frowned as he asked: "Why so steep?" "Because it's SHIELD's." Rumlow explained, and Steve murmured, looking pointedly at Natasha and Arianna: "So it's not off course, it's trespass." "I'm sure they have a good reason." Nat replied lightly.

"You know, I'm getting a little tired of being Fury's janitor." Steve said pointedly. Arianna glanced at him, eyes narrowed, but Nat didn't even spare him a glance as she replied airily: "Relax, it's not that complicated."

Steve glanced at Arianna and muttered: "Right. Not complicated." He turned back to Rumlow and asked shortly: "How many pirates?"

Rumlow showed them on the screen as he replied: "Twenty-five, top mercs, led by this guy. Georges Batroc." He enlarged the man's photo as he continued: "Ex-TGSE, Action Division. He's at the top of Interpol's 'red notice'. Before the French demobilized him, he had thirty-six kill missions. This guy's got a rep for maximum casualties."

"Hostages?" Steve asked immediately, his brows furrowing worriedly, and Rumlow replied as he looked through the file again: "Uh...mostly techs. One officer, Jasper Sitwell." He pulled up a picture for them. "They're in the galley."

Arianna frowned, agreeing with Steve as he muttered: "What's Sitwell doing on a launch ship?" He spoke louder as he addressed the team: "Alright, I'm gonna sweep the deck and find Batroc. Ria, with me. Nat, you'll kill the engines and wait for instructions. Rumlow, you sweep aft, find the hostages, get them to life pods. Get 'em out. Let's go."

Rumlow ordered: "STRIKE, you heard the Captain. Gear up!" They all moved to get their gear and weapons ready as the engines cut down, going into stealth as they came up on the ship. Arianna strapped on a parachute as Steve checked his comms once more to be sure: "Secure channel seven."

"Seven secure." Arianna replied tightly, and Nat repeated casually: "Seven secure." Arianna stiffened a little at the overly casual tone, silently begging Nat to just keep her opinions to herself for once. But as Arianna and Steve took first positions, Nat asked nonchalantly: "You do anything fun Saturday night?"

Both Steve and Arianna tensed at the thinly veiled jab, but Steve replied with forced light-heartedness: "Well, all the guys from my barbershop quartet are dead, so... No, not really." Okay, so maybe not that light.

"Coming up by the drop zone, Cap." The pilot called and Steve pressed the control, lowering the ramp. He and Arianna walked towards the edge, getting ready, when Nat added: "You know, if you ask Kristen out, from Statistics, she'll probably say yes."

She pointed the jab at Steve, but her eyes were on Arianna. The younger agent glared back at her, eyes narrowed angrily while Steve didn't even look over as he replied shortly: "That's why I don't ask."

"Too shy or too scared?" Nat challenged. Arianna was almost frustrated enough to snap at Nat, but their target came. She jumped, pulling open her parachute, as Steve shouted back at Nat: "Too busy!"

He jumped with Arianna as Nat's lips curled into an irritated sneer. She wished Clint was here to knock some sense into the pair- she was too used to being more subtle. Hawkeye had none of her qualms, and he'd beat Steve into shape and drag Arianna to face her fears without a second thought. Damn him for taking that job in Australia.

Her expression became more amused though when an agent behind her asked Rumlow slowly: "Was he wearing a parachute?" Rumlow sounded just as amused as he replied: "No. No, he wasn't."

Steve landed in the water in a seamless dive as Arianna drifted towards the ship, maneuvering to land at the edge of the railings where Steve had just jumped up, taking down the guard. He nodded at her as she pulled off the parachute, and she nodded back.

The pair moved in opposite directions silently, pushing aside their differences as they focused on their work. It was the only reason Fury kept them on a team together; he wasn't blind to their obviously strained relationship but they were professional enough to not let that stop their work, and they were too good a team to split.

Arianna ran down the deck, silently taking down all the guards on her side before they could raise the alarm. Her knives slit the guards' throats easily, and the training from Black Widow ensured she snuck up on them unheard. She reached the deck just as Rumlow shot a guard who had a gun pointed at Steve's head.

"Thanks." Steve said and Rumlow returned with sarcastic humour: "Yeah, you seemed pretty helpless without me."

Arianna joined them as the STRIKE team and Nat arrived as well. Steve nodded at Arianna and they strode off, Nat joining them as she landed. Nat continued as she walked: "What about the nurse that lives across the hall from you? She seems kind of nice."

Arianna closed her eyes in irritation, but neither she nor Steve broke their stride as Steve ordered flatly: "Secure the engine room, then find me a date." "I wouldn't have to if you'd both stop being children." Nat retorted as she jumped over the edge of the deck and headed swiftly for the engine room.

Steve almost faltered in his step, but he didn't glance back or at his companion. Arianna had gritted her teeth, and was close to killing the redhead herself. She was so angry that she was almost glad when a lone guard appeared around the corner. Unfortunate for the guard though.

She kicked him harshly where it hurts, and then grabbed his head, knocking him out swiftly on her knee. Steve watched silently and as she continued walking, not having broken her stride, he commented dryly: "Glad I'm not your opponent."

"You sure about that?" She retorted, a little more sharply than she'd intended. He glanced at her immediately, but turned away again, focusing on the mission as he fired a small sensor into the control room window. Arianna tapped quickly into her mini computer and they soon had audio.

The pair listened as Batroc said something in French, Arianna translating quietly for Steve: "I do not like to wait. Call Durand. I want the ship ready to go as soon as the rescue arrives." A pirate replied: "Yes, Batroc." He then made the call to the engine room, and they heard him say: "Durand. Start the engine."

They slowly moved into position, hiding behind various outposts as a pirate commented to Batroc: "Radio Silence from SHIELD, Batroc." Rumlow called to them over their ear comms: "STRIKE in position." Steve asked quietly: "Natasha, what's your status?"

There was no response, and Steve repeated: "Status, Natasha?" Arianna raised her brow as Nat replied shortly and sharply: "Hang on!" They waited maybe five seconds and then she replied: "Engine room secure."

"Five seconds, you're getting slow, Nat." Arianna teased, and Steve gave her an annoyed look as Nat retorted: "Still faster than you, Ria." "Focus." Steve scolded and Arianna pouted, then as they realized how close their faces were, she quickly averted her face and schooled it into the usual cold mask.

Steve felt a pang in his chest, but he ignored it as he called softly into the comms: "On my mark. Three. Two. One." The pair made their way to the control room as the pirate inside called into his own phone line: "Hello? Batroc, the line is dead. I lost contact with them."

Steve threw his shield at that moment, smashing the glass. He jumped in first, only to be kicked by Batroc. Arianna jumped in as well, just as Steve ran after Batroc. She threw him his shield as she stayed to take out the other pirates quickly, and he caught it without a backward glance as he ran out the door.

She stabbed the pirate as Rumlow reported: "Hostages enroot to extraction. Romanoff missed the rendezvous point, Captain." Arianna's face turned grim and she quickly made her way to the engine room as Rumlow reported: "Hostiles are still in play."

Steve ordered: "Natasha, Batroc's on the move. Circle back to Rumlow and protect the hostages." Arianna hurried quickly, avoiding STRIKE, potentially Steve, and any other pirates left as she made her way to Nat. Steve called again when there was no response: "Natasha?"

Sounding irritated and worried, he called again: "Ria, find-" he was cut off, Ria assumed, by Batroc. She almost paused but pushed on- Steve could handle himself. Arianna strode into a room on the way to the engine room, spotting Nat by the computer.

"Are you trying to get discovered?" Arianna demanded, and Nat shrugged. "Not my fault the computer doesn't download faster." She commented as she eyed the younger agent warily. Arianna was doing the same as her mind raced. _Surely not…_

Nat asked slowly: "How'd you know I'd be here." "Same person who ordered you to come here." Arianna replied flatly, making no move to get closer. She knew they were on thin ice, and she didn't want Nat to become overly suspicious. Her hand unconsciously moved to her neck and she fiddled with the locket.

Nat immediately zeroed in on the action and Arianna froze. She hadn't even realized she'd gone back to wearing the locket. She silently cursed herself- the whole situation with Steve was clearly affecting her focus, more than she liked or wanted to admit. Arianna slowly let go of the locket and tried to maintain a neutral expression but she had a feeling Nat saw right through her.

The redhead's eyes narrowed just slightly, but they were interrupted as the door on the far side of the room smashed open as Steve slammed Bartroc into the ground, knocking him out.

"Well, this is awkward." Nat commented, and Steve looked up in disbelief. His eyes narrowed as he saw the two standing there and he demanded: "What are you two doing?"

"I'm watching her." Arianna pointed at Nat, who finished: "Back up the hard drive. It's a good habit to get into." She added.

Steve strode over furiously, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Bartroc was out cold. "Rumlow needed your help. What the hell are you doing here?" He saw what she was backing up and he said flatly: "You're saving SHIELD Intel."

"Whatever I can get my hands on." Nat finally admitted, and Steve snapped: "Our mission is to rescue hostages."

"No. That's your mission." Nat corrected him. She pulled out her flash disk as she finished backing up what she needed and she added: "Not sure what Ria's mission is yet." Steve glanced at the other agent who wasn't moving and his eyes shifted back to Nat as she finished: "But you've done yours beautifully."

She made to stride past him but he grabbed her arm, stopping her as he said angrily: "You just jeopardized this whole operation." "I think that's overstating things." Nat replied, her tone still light when Aria spotted Bartroc move.

"Steve, Nat-!" She called warningly as she jumped forward, but Bartroc shot at her as he threw a grenade at Steve and Nat. She ducked, barely dodging as the bullet skimmed her arm, drawing blood, while Steve hit the grenade aside with his shield and Bartoc escaped. Unfortunately, the grenade was still in the room and more importantly it was now sitting closer to Arianna.

"Crap." She muttered but Steve was suddenly before her, grabbing her as he jumped for cover. He pushed Nat with the arm holding Arianna as he went, using his other arm to lift his shield to cover them as he threw them into a side office, smashing them through the window just as the grenade exploded.

Arianna groaned, her head having been hit by Steve's shield as Steve and Nat quickly moved to back against the wall just in case. Steve dragged Arianna with him, leaving her as she clutched her head and then her arm while he peeked out the window to check the coast was clear.

"Okay." Nat muttered as she caught her breath. "That one's on me." "You're damn right." Steve snarled, before turning to check on Arianna. "Ria, you okay?" He asked as he reached for her arm, but she jerked out of his grip.

"Never better." She muttered, and his eyes narrowed. Grabbing his shield, he stormed out furiously, while Nat rolled her eyes but she glanced at Arianna guiltily.

"Sorry." She muttered and Arianna winced as she checked the damage. "Not your fault." She returned and there was a tense silence.

"Fury sent you to check on me?" Nat asked at last, and Arianna nodded. "He doesn't trust me." Nat mused and Arianna pointed out: "He doesn't trust anyone. Not even Captain America."

Nat sighed as she murmured: "Now he's got us turning on each other." Arianna didn't answer as she slowly picked herself up.

"Come on." She sighed to Nat. "If we don't hurry, I wouldn't put it past Steve to leave us behind in the state that he's in."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Nat muttered but she got up, and the pair quickly made their way to the jet rendezvous point. Thankfully, it hadn't left yet although Steve's face was set in an angry mask as they slipped inside. None of them spoke, and STRIKE didn't comment although Rumlow raised his brows at their frazzled state and Arianna's bleeding arm.

*A/N Yes, I have taken liberties with the dates. I know Steve was originally with SHIELD for two years before 'Winter Soldier' but it felt ridiculous to have him and Arianna at odds for that long. That was really the only reason for the change, but wanted to clear it up just in case.


	15. Project Insight

*A/N Lots of switching P.O.V.s in this one!

Arianna P.O.V.

Once they were back in DC, Steve oversaw the safe return of the hostages while Nat went to deliver her package to Fury under the pretense of taking Arianna to the medical bay. Well, technically they did go to the bay, they just happened to pass Fury on the way.

He nodded to them both, glancing quickly at Arianna's arm but not commenting. As she sat on the cot in the med bay, Nat cleaning and dressing her wound, Arianna asked abruptly: "Do you really think he's trying to turn us against each other?"

Nat glanced at her and sighed. She shook her head as she replied slowly, carefully: "I don't think it's intentional, but I think he's starting something and naturally it makes us draw lines. It's nothing new, but somehow I don't like the feeling I'm getting this time... It's got me more on edge than usual."

"More like you've got me and Steve further on edge than we need to be." Arianna muttered under her breath, but Nat heard her and looked at her pointedly. "No, I haven't." Nat replied flatly. "You put yourselves there, both of you. You when you had to go and be stupid, and him when he didn't try to fight to get you back."

Arianna had tensed again and she warned darkly: "Nat. Drop it. Now." Nat glared at her as she snapped: "No, you drop it. I didn't train you and watch you grow up from a teenager to an adult just so that you can act like a child!"

"Child? Me?" Arianna spat, finally having had enough. "Excuse me, who's the one who said 'love is for children'?"

"Is that what Clint taught you?" Nat countered and Arianna turned her face away. Nat continued, softer now: "Come on, Ria. You know better than that. I might be cold, but Phil and Clint taught you to be more humane than what I knew. Don't let fear draw you back."

Arianna had turned away, leaning back on the wall and she murmured: "It's not fear. It's fact. Don't deny it, you think it too sometimes. At the end of the day, we're no better than monsters."

"You are better." Nat argued as she looked at Arianna and then at the SHIELD uniform pointedly. "At least SHIELD does good. It's not in bad blood, what we do. Not like what I've done in the past." She added in a murmur, but Arianna just snorted as she thought about her recent assignment: "Right."

Nat looked at her curiously as she demanded: "What?"

"Look, it doesn't matter." Arianna sighed. "Whether it's for SHIELD or for anyone else, at the end of the day we're killers. He doesn't deserve me, he deserves…" She waved her hands as she trailed off, sighing in defeat.

"But he chose you." Nat said quietly and Arianna snorted again, sarcastic as she snapped: "No, he noticed me. Like you said, he made no attempt to hold onto me. And I don't want him to either; it's bad enough you encouraging it."

Nat's eyes saddened as Arianna got up and walked out. She watched after the brunette and sighed, looking down at her hands slightly bloodied from Arianna's wound. She sat there, lost in thought, staring at the red stains, as Arianna fought back the almost physical pain in her heart. Her hand automatically moved to fiddle absently with the locket, but she caught herself.

She let it go quickly, her empty hand falling to hang by her side as she strode determinedly down the corridor.

* * *

 _June 27, 2013_

Steve P.O.V.

Steve strode into the Triskelion that morning, beyond irritated. He'd spent the night overseeing the hostages being safely returned, and as the sun rose he finally stormed into Fury's office as he snapped: "You just can't stop yourself from lying, can you?"

Fury was of course waiting for him as he corrected: "I didn't lie. Agent Romanoff had a different mission than yours." "Which you didn't feel obliged to share." Steve pointed out as he stopped before Fury's desk, and Fury replied casually: "I'm not obliged to do anything."

"Those hostages could've died, Nick." Steve said coldly, and Fury turned to him as he retorted: "I sent the greatest soldier in history to make sure that didn't happen."

Steve wasn't having it as he bit out: "Soldiers trust each other, that's what makes it an army. Not a bunch of guys running around and shooting guns."

"The last time I trusted someone, I lost an eye." Fury snapped as he stood up, meeting Steve head on. He paused and said flatly: "Look, I didn't want you doing anything you weren't comfortable with. Agent Romanoff is comfortable with everything."

"Oh, and Ria? What was she doing there?" Steve demanded and Fury replied monotonously: "She was sent there to ensure the package's safe delivery to me."

Steve snarled at him: "I can't lead a mission when the people I'm leading have missions of their owns."

"It's called compartmentalization." Fury retorted. "Nobody spills the secrets because nobody knows them all." Steve raised his brows and nodded at him as he said with a mirthless smile: "Except you."

Fury stared at him and then drew back. He said softly: "You're wrong about me." Steve looked at him, clearly disbelieving, but Fury went on: "I do share. I'm nice like that." He added somewhat sarcastically. He walked out, motioning for Steve to follow.

The Captain did so slowly, following with narrowed eyes as Fury walked into the elevator. He called as he stepped inside: "Insight bay." The computer immediately beeped, showing the image from Steve's SHIELD profile: "Captain Rogers does not have clearance for Project Insight."

Steve raised his brow as Fury replied firmly: "Director override, Fury, Nicholas J." "Confirmed." The computer said and the elevator began to descend smoothly and silently. Steve commented dryly: "You know, they used to play music."

"Yeah." Fury replied. He snorted as he said to Steve: "My grandfather operated one of these things for forty years. My granddad worked in a nice building, he got good tips. He'd walk home every night, roll of ones stuffed in his lunch bag. He'd say 'Hi', people would say hi back. Time went on, neighborhood got rougher. He'd say 'Hi', they'd say, 'Keep on steppin'.' Granddad got to grippin' that lunch bag a little tighter."

Steve raised his brows, glancing at Fury as he asked: "Did he ever get mugged?" "Every week some punk would say, 'What's in the bag'?" Fury replied with a snort.

Steve asked quietly: "Well, what did he do?" "He'd show 'em." Fury replied lightly as he looked at Steve.

"A bunch of crumpled ones and loaded 0.22 Magnum." He smiled reminiscently as the elevator took them below ground. "Granddad loved people. But he didn't trust them very much."

Steve glanced out the glass elevator to see a hanger with three enormous, armed helicarriers each with an entire fleet of fighter jets, and his mouth fell open a little in shock. Fury saw his look and commented: "Yeah, I know. They're a little bit bigger than a 0.22."

* * *

"This," Fury began as he led Steve down the hanger and towards one of the helicarriers, "is Project Insight. Three next generation Helicarriers synced to a network of targeting satellites."

"Launched from the Lemurian Star." Steve realized as they walked closer, and Fury nodded as he explained: "Once we get them in the air they never need to come down. Continuous suborbital flight courtesy of our new repulser engines." He indicated the engines.

"Stark?" Steve asked sharply, and Fury replied with a shrug: "Well, he had a few suggestions once he got an up close look at our old turbines. Arianna added to them, although she didn't know what it was for if you want to know." Steve glanced at him, but Fury had turned away.

He took Steve onto a higher landing as he pointed out: "These new long range precision guns can eliminate a thousand hostiles a minute. The satellites can read a terrorist's DNA before he steps outside his spider hole."

Steve stared around with an impassive face as Fury finished calmly: "We're gonna neutralize a lot of threats before they even happen." "I thought the punishment usually came after the crime." Steve commented as he looked at Fury levelly.

Fury replied flatly, matching his look: "We can't afford to wait that long." "Who's 'we'?" Steve asked coldly, and Fury explained as he turned back to the helicarriers: "After New York, I convinced the World Security Council we needed a quantum surgeon threat analysis. For once we're way ahead of the curve."

Steve also turned to the ships as he said flatly: "By holding a gun at everyone on Earth and calling it protection." Fury looked at him as he commented: "You know, I read those SSR files." Steve turned to look at him again as Fury pointed out: "Greatest generation? You guys did some nasty stuff."

"Yeah, we compromised." Steve said monotonously, trying to hide his anger. "Sometimes in ways that made us not sleep so well. But we did it so the people could be free. This isn't freedom," he pointed at the helicarriers as he finished softly, "this is fear."

Fury turned so that he and Steve were standing face to face once more as he said pointedly: "SHIELD takes the world as it is, not as we'd like it to be. It's getting damn near past time for you to get with that program, Cap." The two men stared each other down as Steve replied softly, but scathingly: "Don't hold your breath."

He turned and left, unable to stand looking at the helicarriers any longer.

* * *

After visiting the Smithsonian Museum where they had a Captain America exhibition to take a long look at the exhibits of his former teammates, the Howling Commandoes and Bucky, Steve went to visit the only person still alive that he felt really had his back.

He sat by Peggy's bed, staring at the photographs of her, her husband, and her children on her bedside table. "You should be proud of yourself, Peggy." He murmured, and Peggy sighed: "Mm. I have lived a life."

She was watching him carefully and she asked him softly: "Steve, what is it? Where's Arianna? I haven't seen her with you in a while."

Steve sighed as he answered: "There was nothing there, Peggy. I broke things between us and I can't fix it." Peggy looked at him sadly and she murmured: "Now, I don't believe that. And it doesn't sound like you to give up."

Steve shook his head as he murmured softly: "For as long as I can remember I just wanted to do what was right. I guess I'm not quite sure what that is anymore. And I thought I could throw myself back in and follow orders, serve… It's just not the same."

Peggy chuckled as she mused: "You're always so dramatic. Look, you saved the world. We rather...mucked it up." "You didn't." Steve disagreed softly. "Knowing that you helped found SHIELD is half the reason I stay."

"And the other half?" Peggy asked slyly, and Steve didn't reply. Peggy sighed as she took his hand and she told him seriously: "The world has changed and none of us can go back. All we can do is our best, and sometimes the best that we can do is to start over."

She looked at him pointedly and Steve murmured, sounding lost: ""I don't know what to do, Peggy. I don't know what's right anymore." "What does your heart tell you?" She asked and he made a face. She smiled at that, and he answered honestly: "I don't want to lose her."

"Then that's where you start." Peggy told him seriously. "You start there. Hold onto her and see where it takes you." Steve still looked uncertain and she leaned forward to tap his chest right above his heart. "This has always been good. I trusted it and so did you. I think it's time you trusted it once more."

Steve nodded slowly and he gave her a half-smile as he murmured: "Thanks, Peggy." She smiled and added as she leaned back into her pillows: "I hope Arianna's with you the next time you come, mister."

Steve chuckled, even though it was forced, as he thought about that. Maybe, just maybe… he needed to try again.

* * *

Arianna P.O.V.

Arianna received a call from Fury as she was leaving the Triskelion. "Sir?" She asked and he replied shortly: "Go secure."

She quickly clicked her phone, enabling the protective hardwiring she'd placed into it. "Secure." She confirmed, even as she pulled a face. She didn't like how often this was happening.

"Hart, I want you with Rogers today. Make sure he gets home safe." Fury ordered and she frowned.

"Sir?" She asked, confused and he said grimly: "We may be compromised. Romanoff's files were encrypted." "I didn't see anything, sir." Arianna replied tensely, now afraid. _Not Nat._

"And I'm not suggesting she did it, but we have no choice. And I'm not taking chances with Rogers' safety." "Yes, sir." Arianna replied immediately, and he ended the call as he said: "Over and out."

She ended the line and began the search for Steve's motorbike. His phone couldn't be traced or hacked, she'd ensured it when he'd first gotten the thing. But just in case she ever needed to find him, she'd placed a GPS on his bike, reasoning that was safe enough. If he was in actual trouble, he'd know better than to use it anyway.

She got a lock and was surprised to see it was parked outside of the VA. Frowning, she headed over, walking swiftly through the crowds of people. She didn't trust a cab at the moment, and decided she'd be safer on her feet. At the time, she had no idea how right she was.

* * *

Steve P.O.V.

Steve walked down the hallways towards the PTSD group meeting Sam had told him about. He caught the end of a woman's story as she said: "The thing is, I think it's getting worse. A cop pulled me over last week- he thought I was drunk. I swerved to miss a plastic bag. I thought it was an IED."

He walked to stand by the doorway as Sam said gently: "Some stuff you leave there, other stuff you bring back. It's our job to figure out how to carry it. Is it gonna be in a big suitcase or in a little man-purse? It's up to you."

Steve waited for the meeting to end, and as the group all dispersed, Sam spotted him. He greeted with a smile: "Look who it is. The running man."

He began to pick up his flyers and information booklets from the front of the room as Steve walked over, commenting: "Caught the last few minutes. It's pretty intense."

"Yeah, brother, we all got the same problems. Guilt, regret." Sam said flatly, and Steve asked softly, recognizing the tone: "You lose someone?" Sam paused and then nodded once as he said monotonously: "My wingman, Riley."

He sighed and explained: "Fly in the night mission. A standard PJ rescue op, nothing we hadn't done a thousand times before, till RPG knocked Riley's dumb ass out of the sky." Steve's face softened as Sam said flatly. "Nothing I could do. It's like I was up there just to watch."

Steve bowed his head and murmured: "I'm sorry." "After that," Sam shrugged, "I had really hard time finding a reason for being over there, you know?"

Steve nodded and he asked as he glanced at the brochures: "But you're happy now, back in the world?"

Sam replied lightly: "Hey, the number of people giving me orders is down to about… zero." Steve grinned at that, and Sam went on with a shrug: "So, hell, yeah." He raised his brows at Steve, asking curiously: "You thinking about getting out?"

"No." Steve replied quickly. He paused and then admitted: "I don't know. To be honest, I don't know what I would do with myself if I did."

"Ultimate fighting?" Sam suggested. Steve snorted, and Sam replied lightly: "It's just a great idea off the top of my head. But seriously, you could do whatever you want to do." When Steve bowed his head again, Sam tried asking: "What makes you happy?"

"I don't know." Steve murmured and Sam looked at him sympathetically. As he finished up and they began to walk out Sam tried: "Well, how about meeting a nice girl, doing something outside of… this."

He gestured at the brochures and Steve chuckled. "Now you're giving me dating advice? Why not take your own advice?" Steve joked and Sam replied lightly: "Hey, I'm not the one who's looking for an out."

Steve sighed and Sam asked: "So? Why not?" "No. That's probably an even more complicated mess." Steve admitted and Sam shrugged again.

"I don't know, she looked hot to me." He commented and Steve looked at him questioningly. Sam caught his look and elaborated: "The cool redhead?"

"Nat?" Steve snorted. "No."

As they stepped outside, both men stopped, raising their brows. Arianna was leaning on Steve's bike, dressed casually in a simple shirt, jean jacket and skinny jeans paired with mid-calf boots. She glanced up and spotting them in the doorway, she straightened up, calling cheerily: "Hey."

"Okay, I see now. Complicated." Sam said sarcastically and Steve muttered to him: "It's not what you think. It's way more complicated than that." "How come you get all the hot girls though?" Sam quipped, and Steve snorted.

Arianna raised her brows as she asked: "What's so funny?" "Maybe the fact that you're leaning on _my_ bike. What are you even doing here?" Steve asked her as he walked over and she said brightly: "I'm here to pick you up."

"On my bike?" Steve asked flatly, and she shrugged. She nodded at Sam as he paused a little away, calling: "Nice to meet you, Mr. Veteran."

He grinned at her as he called back: "Sure would be nice to get to know you." "Okay, knock it off." Steve said annoyed, and Sam grinned. He waved at them before he walked off towards his car and Steve turned to Arianna in annoyance.

"Seriously, Ria, why're you here?" He asked, and she replied lightly: "Just thought I'd drop by since I was in the area." He looked at her disbelievingly as he repeated flatly: "In the area. You. And you thought you'd drop by?"

She nodded, and it was then that Steve noticed just how tense she was. It had become so natural recently that he hadn't questioned it, but he realized now her eyes were narrowed and darting around every so often and her muscles were tensed as though ready to spring at a moment's notice.

He slowly took in his surroundings as well, watchful, but nothing seemed wrong. "Ria?" He asked softly, and she caught his tone and made a face. But she answered in a low voice: "Not here." Raising her voice to its falsely cheery tone again she asked: "Ready to go?"

Steve nodded tightly, and sat down. She climbed on behind him, hugging his waist as he took them down the street. Steve sighed internally as his heart sped a little at the contact; it didn't seem like a good sign to him that his body could react to her even in this situation.

He refocused as her mouth pressed to his ear while he drove, and she whispered as the wind whistled past their heads: "Fury thinks there might be a mole inside SHIELD. He put me on the case, but we didn't want to alert anyone that he was looking, so it's been very much on the low."

Steve's eyes narrowed but she wasn't finished. She murmured: "He called to tell me to stick with you until you got home today. He thinks we may be compromised but until things are more certain we can't make a move either."

As they slowed at a red light, Steve asked her softly: "And why should I trust what you say?"

"You shouldn't." She replied tightly as her eyes continued to dart around. "I'm letting you know so that you can make your own decisions fully informed. And don't worry- Fury's got a job for me after I get you home, so I'll soon be out of your hair."

For some reason (or maybe for obvious reasons) that hurt more. Not only did she not expect him to trust her, she was anxious to get away from him… and thought he felt the same way. Steve hesitated but as the traffic light changed once more, he silently revved his engine and he drove them towards his apartment.

* * *

Arianna P.O.V.

It was nighttime by the time Steve rode up to his apartment. Arianna slipped off quickly, but before she could disappear, Steve grabbed her arm. She winced and he let go immediately, eyes zooming in on her covered sleeves.

"Is it bad?" He asked quietly, and she shrugged it off, making to leave again but he grabbed her hand. She tried to wrench it away, but he pulled her towards him firmly.

"Steve, we haven't got time for this." Arianna snapped, agitated, but he retorted coolly: "We never have time. It's part of the job."

"Yes, and some times are more stressful than others, this being one of those times. So let go." Arianna pointed out, her muscles tensing so tightly she was honestly afraid for a moment they'd either cramp or snap.

But Steve gripped her, forcing her to look at him in the eyes as he asked quietly: "I just want to know one thing: did you push me away because you didn't want to be with me or because you were afraid of being with me?"

"Steve-" She began to snarl, but he commanded: "Tell me." She stared at him wordlessly, defiantly, and he murmured softly, almost pleading: "Tell me, Ria." Her gaze faltered and her expression wavered for a second, and she whispered: "Neither."

He blinked in surprise and she used the moment to escape, pulling out of his grasp and slipping away into the darkness. She hadn't lied; it was neither. If she had to choose, it was probably closer to fear, but that wasn't exactly right. She wasn't afraid of rejection nor was she afraid of love per se.

She was afraid to trust someone again, even if it was Captain America. And love... it required a deep trust, and more than anything she was afraid of someone placing that kind of intimate trust in her. Because after everything she'd done for SHIELD... she wasn't sure she deserved that kind of trust. While she wanted to believe she'd managed to keep her head and heart straight, the lines seemed to be blurring, especially lately.

And it seemed the world was out to prove her right the more she dug to find the spy inside SHIELD. Because she was starting to have a very serious, sinking gut feeling that she knew who was behind it… who had planted the spy there. Her hand automatically moved towards her throat and she felt the locket hidden under her shirt. She twisted the heart-shaped pendant slightly as her own heart clenched tightly.


	16. Pierce

*A/N So sorry I took so long to update! Hope the chapter makes up for the wait.

Steve P.O.V.

Steve growled in frustration. Of course, she would escape like that. She had neither answered his question nor left him any way to vent his frustration as he switched off his bike and clambered off. But he paused as he repeated the scene in his head and he realized she might just have told the truth.

 _But if it wasn't rejection nor fear, what is it?_ He wondered as he climbed up the stairs towards his apartment. As he walked down the hall, his neighbor Kate, the blonde nurse Nat had mentioned before walked out of her apartment, talking quietly on her phone.

She saw Steve and smiled as she hung up: "I gotta go, though. Okay, bye." She said to Steve, somewhat apologetically: "My aunt, she's kind of an insomniac." Steve smiled at her politely as she added awkwardly: "Yep."

He just nodded back as he turned to his apartment door, too caught up in thinking about Arianna, when Kate added: "Oh, I think you left your stereo on." Steve paused and he said to her lightly: "Oh. Right, thank you."

She nodded and walked down the stairs. Steve watched her disappear before he turned back to his door suspiciously. He could hear the music, and he frowned. Moving back out, he slipped inside his apartment through the window instead, heading down the hallway silently and grabbing his shield on the way.

He reached the corner to his living room and peered around to see the record player playing loudly and Fury siting in the armchair beside it. Steve almost sighed in relief, but he was still tense as he said flatly: "I don't remember giving you a key."

"You really think I'd need one?" Fury retorted, and he sat up with a pain-filled groan. He looked at Steve directly as he added: "My wife kicked me out." "Didn't know you were married." Steve returned and Fury looked almost amused as he pointed out: "There are a lot of things you don't about me."

"I know, Nick." Steve retorted as he moved in to turn on the lights. "That's the problem." He flipped the light switch and his eyes narrowed. Fury was covered in his own blood and there were several visible injuries all over the man. Steve would bet there were many more internal ones.

He was about to say something when Fury lifted a finger in warning. He carefully switched the lights off again and wrote something on his phone, before showing it to Steve. 'Ears everywhere'.

Steve glanced around as Fury said, as though continuing their conversation from earlier: "I'm sorry to have do this, but I had no place else to crash." He then showed Steve another message on his phone: 'SHIELD compromised.'

Steve's eyes narrowed- Arianna had just left after giving him the warning that this might happen. Steve asked, a little sharply: "Who else knows about your wife?" Fury showed him another text: 'You, me and Aria'. At the same time he stood up, with another small grunt of pain, as he said aloud: "Just...my friends."

"Is that what we are?" Steve asked tightly, and Fury replied seriously: "That's up to you." Suddenly there was a bang as a bullet shot right through the wall and hit Fury. He collapsed in pain as two more bullets were fired, while Steve was stunned for a moment, before he quickly dragged Fury behind the corner and out of firing range.

He spied movement on the roof through a crack in his window blinds, where the assassin had to be. Steve made to go towards it when Fury coughed and he grabbed Steve's hand. Steve looked down to see it was the flash drive Nat had stolen before, and he glanced at Fury as he murmured to Steve urgently: "Don't… trust anyone."

Fury passed out, and Steve heard someone break into his apartment as Kate's voice called: "Captain Rogers?" Steve quickly peered through the bookshelves to see it was Kate as she walked in slowly, a gun raised and pointed warily.

"Captain, I'm Agent 13 of SHIELD's Special Service." She informed him as she spotted him, and Steve could only ask numbly: "Kate?" "I'm assigned to protect you." She explained as she walked into his apartment and Steve's eyes narrowed.

"On whose order?" Steve asked sharply, just as she spotted Fury on the ground. "His." She muttered as she knelt beside the prone man and called through her SHIELD radio: "Foxtrot is down, he's unresponsive. I need EMTs."

"Do you have a twenty on the shooter?" Another agent replied immediately, and she glanced around while Steve stared out of his window as something flashed by. He told her flatly: "Tell them I'm in pursuit."

Steve ran through his apartment, raising his shield as he smashed out of his window towards the building opposite, crashing into the top floor as the assassin made a dash for it across the roof. Steve used his shield to smash a path through the building, following the assassin.

He spotted the man through the far window, jumping onto the lower roof of the next building and Steve sped up to smash through that window as well. He threw his shield at the assassin as he landed on the roof, and then stared in shock as the masked man grabbed his shield with what appeared to be a metallic left arm.

Steve stared, trying to get a good look, but the man threw his shield back at him and Steve was forced to glance down as he caught it, stumbling back a step from the impact. When he looked up again, the man was gone and there were no traces of him anywhere below.

* * *

Steve stood tensely in the hospital, watching the doctors as they operated on Fury. SHIELD agents passed in and out worriedly, all making calls and either demanding reports or giving reports. Steve called no-one, not daring to as he remembered Fury's last words to him. And he couldn't help but wonder- did that include Arianna?

As he stood, he heard someone burst into the room and through the window he spotted the familiar red hair as Natasha strode up to join him. She stared at the operating table through the window, and she asked him quietly: "Is he gonna make it?"

"I don't know." Steve replied. There was a brief pause as they watched the doctors try frantically to save Fury's life, before Nat said: "Tell me about the shooter." "He's fast and strong." Steve replied. "He had a metal arm." Nat shifted at that, and Steve glanced at her.

At that moment, Maria Hill joined them, also staring through the glass. "Ballistics?" Nat asked, and Maria replied emotionlessly: "Three slugs. No rifling and completely untraceable." "Soviet made?" Nat asked suddenly, and Maria glanced at her as she replied slowly: "Yeah."

"Where's Ria?" Nat demanded, and Maria replied softly: "She's missing. Her apartment was broken into though." Steve and Nat immediately narrowed their eyes at that. Just then, the doctors began to move more urgently, calling: "He's dropping." "Crash cart coming in." "Defibrillator!"

Maria watched with furrowed brows while Nat muttered, begging quietly: "Don't do this to me, Nick." The doctor called as he raised the defibrillator: "Stand back! Three, two, one. Clear!" He pressed the defibrillator on Fury's chest and the man jerked.

"Pulse?" The doctor asked as the trio by the windows watched grimly. "No pulse." The other doctor replied, and the first doctor called: "Okay. Charge to two hundred, please. Stand back! Three, two, one. Clear!" He shocked Fury again.

"Give me epinephrine! Pulse?" The doctor called, but Fury's heart monitor was flat lining. Nat's face fell, and Maria fought tears. Steve gave up first, turning away and walking out as Nat's face became an emotionless mask as she dealt with the pain while Maria's eyes closed.

Maria left next, unable to stay while Nat stared at Fury's body as the doctor's gave up, moving to clean the body instead. Steve stood outside the emergency room, and briefly pulled out the flash drive to stare at it before he joined Nat inside the morgue room where Fury's body was laid out for them to see.

Nat's face was impassive even as tears ran down her face as she stared down at Fury's body. Maria joined them soon after and she murmured: "We need to take him." Steve nodded once and then moved to Natasha as she remained unmoving.

"Natasha." Steve said gently, but she didn't move at first. Finally, she slowly reached out to gently touch Fury's head before she turned and walked out, her face a mask of cold anger. Steve strode after her calling worriedly: "Natasha!"

She whipped around and she asked suddenly: "Why was Fury in your apartment?" Steve paused and then replied as he lifted his arms a little: "I don't know." They were interrupted as Rumlow called from behind: "Cap."

Steve turned to look at the agent as he told him: "They want you back at SHIELD." "Yeah, give me a second." Steve replied as he turned back to Nat, but Rumlow interjected pointedly: "They want you now."

Steve slowly turned back to him as he said firmly: "Okay." He leveled a look at the agent, and Rumlow turned and strode back away. Steve turned back to Nat who had watched the whole exchange, and she told Steve with a small mirthless smirk: "You're a terrible liar."

She made to turn away, but Steve grabbed her arm and he hissed in her ear: "Where's Ria?" She wrenched her arm out and her eyes were blazing as she snarled back at him: "If I knew, she'd be here with me. Not missing."

Natasha turned and stormed away as Steve sagged a little. He was worried- about Ria, the situation, the flash drive. He glanced to the side and paused as he stared at the vending machine that was just being restocked. He made his split-second decision and acted on it, before he walked out of the hospital, joining Rumlow.

"Let's go." Steve said tersely and Runlow nodded. "Yeah." He called to his agents: "STRIKE, move it out." The team walked around and ahead of him and Rumlow, escorting them back to the Triskelion.

* * *

 _June 28, 2013_

Steve walked towards the designated office, to see the Head Secretary Alexander Pierce standing in the doorway, speaking to a female agent. "For whatever it's worth, you did your best." He murmured, and the woman replied: "Thank you, sir."

She turned, and paused as she saw Steve. Agent 13 greeted as she walked passed him: "Captain Rogers." "Neighbor." Steve retorted as he passed her, and Pierce greeted: "Ah, Captain. I'm Alexander Pierce."

"Sir." Steve replied respectfully. He shook the man's hand as he added: "It's an honor." "The honor is mine, Captain." Pierce replied. "My father served in the 101st. Come on in." He jerked his head and Steve followed him in.

Pierce walked to his desk, handing a photograph of himself and Fury to Steve. Steve placed his shield on the ground as he took the photograph and examined it as he stood by one of the couches. Pierce explained: "That photo was taken five years after Nick and I met. When I was at State Department in Bogota."

He pulled out some papers and began to walk over as he continued: "ELN rebels took the embassy, and security got me out, but the rebels took hostages. Nick was deputy chief for the SHIELD station there. And he comes to me with a plan. He wants to storm the building through the sewers. I said, 'No, we'll negotiate.' Turned out the ELN didn't negotiate, so they put out a kill order. They stormed the basement, and what did they find? They find it empty."

Pierce placed the papers on the coffee table as he sat down. Steve sat with him as Pierce finished: "Nick had ignored my direct order and carried out an unauthorized military operation on foreign soil. He saved the lives of a dozen political officers, including my daughter."

"So you gave him a promotion." Steve said flatly, indicating the photograph, and Pierce replied firmly: "I've never had any cause to regret it." He then looked at Steve intently as he asked: "Captain, why was Nick in your apartment last night?"

Steve looked back at the man briefly before he murmured: "I don't know." "You know it was bugged?" Pierce asked, and Steve looked at him directly as he replied without inflection: "I did, because Nick told me."

"Did he tell you he was the one who bugged it?" Pierce asked with raised brows. Steve stiffened, and didn't reply. Pierce examined him and then said abruptly: "I want you to see something."

He opened up a screen on the wall, showing a video feed of Batroc. A SHIELD agent was circling the man, asking: ": Who hired you, Batroc?" "Is that live?" Steve checked, and Pierce nodded, explaining: "Yeah, they picked him up last night in a not-so-safe house in Algiers."

Steve asked skeptically: "Are you saying he's a suspect? Assassination isn't Batroc's line." "No, it's more complicated than that." Pierce murmured before he explained: "Batroc was hired anonymously to attack the Lemurian Star and he was contacted by e-mail and paid by wire transfer. And then the money was run through seventeen fictitious accounts, the last one going to a holding company that was registered to a Jacob Veech."

Pierce handed a file to Steve, who asked: "Am I supposed to know who that is?" Steve began to flip through the file as Pierce almost snorted: "Not likely. Veech died six years ago. His last address was 14-35 Elmhurst Drive. When I first met Nick his mother lived at 14-37."

Steve glanced at Pierce immediately, seeing where Pierce was going with this. He asked slowly: "Are you saying Fury hired the pirates? Why?" "Well the prevailing theory," Pierce explained to him, "was that the hijacking was a cover for the acquisition and sale of classified intelligence."

Steve paused and turned back to the file. Pierce finished: "The sale went sour and that led to Nick's death." Steve let that sink in and then he commented: "If you really knew Nick Fury you know that's not true."

"Why do you think we're talking?" Pierce asked him. He continued, standing up and Steve followed him: "See, I took a seat on the Council not because I wanted to but because Nick asked me to, because we were both realists."

Pierce walked over to the far window, looking out into the morning view of Washington D.C. as he continued: "We knew that despite all the diplomacy and the handshaking and the rhetoric, that to build a really better world, sometimes means having to tear the old one down."

He turned back to Steve as he said darkly: "And that makes enemies. Those people that call you dirty because you got the guts to stick your hands in the mud and try to build something better. And the idea that those people could be happy today, makes me really, really angry."

The two men stood in a tense face-off, Steve not trusting this man before him. Pierce said at last: "Captain, you were the last one to see Nick alive. I don't think that's an accident. And I don't think you do either. So I'm gonna ask again, why was he there?"

Steve stared at Pierce, calculating and he finally replied simply: "He told me not to trust anyone." "I wonder if that included him." Pierce said pointedly. Steve stared at the other man for another beat before he said apologetically: I'm sorry. Those were his last words."

He turned away as he said with finality: "Excuse me." He picked up his shield, placing it on his back as he made his way out when Pierce called after him: "Captain." Steve paused, turning back as Pierce said warningly: "Somebody murdered my friend and I'm gonna find out why. Anyone gets in my way, they're gonna regret it. Anyone."

Steve examined the man and replied shortly: "Understood." He left, feeling tense and worried. He didn't trust Pierce at all, and he wondered if this was the reason Fury had warned him not to trust anyone- because the mole inside SHIELD was higher up in the pecking order than they had initially thought.

He was lost in thought as he walked into the elevator, saying: "Operations control." "Confirmed." The computer acknowledged as Steve leaned against the railings at the back of the elevator, looking down far below in thought.

The doors began to close, when someone stopped it and also walked in. They were talking to a group of others, and Steve ignored them until one called: "Captain." He recognized Rumlow's voice and turned, greeting: "Rumlow."

Rumlow stood with two other agents, standing nearer the doors. He folded his arms as Steve stood with his own hands before him, both a little awkward as the doors closed. Rumlow finally said: "Evidence response found some fibers on the roof they want us to see. You want me to get the tac-team ready?"

"No," Steve replied, "lets wait and see what it is first." "Right." Rumlow replied and turned away again. But Steve noticed at the one of the agents had his hand placed on the taser in his leg holster, even as the agent tried to look about casually. Steve's eyes narrowed as the elevator stopped and some more agents stepped in.

"Administrations level." One called as they walked in. They looked like ordinary office agents, dressed in suits and carrying suitcases. But Steve's stomach was starting to knot, and his gut was telling him something was wrong. As the agents crowded in, Steve slowly made his way into the center of the elevator, glancing at the new additions.

Rumlow suddenly piped up: "Um...sorry about what happened with Fury. Messed up what happened to him." "Thank you." Steve replied slowly. It sounded for all the world like Rumlow was just trying to make conversation, if awkwardly, but Steve was now really feeling the oddly tense atmosphere.

One of the agents was perspiring nervously, pulling his shirt collar nervously. The elevator stopped again and three more joined. The man called: "Records." And the computer once again beeped: "Confirmed." Steve watched as two walked in behind him while one agent stopped right in front of him, blocking the door.

He was now completely surrounded and as the doors shut, Steve took a deep breath. "Before we get started," he said flatly, "does anyone want to get out?" He looked at them expectantly, and his eyes rested on the man in front of him.

As he expected, that agent was the first to attack, whipping out a taser and spinning to attack Steve. Steve blocked him by moving swiftly to the side, pushing the man past, but the other agents grabbed him, holding his arms and neck. One of the others pushed the emergency button on the elevator, making it stop its descent.

As Steve struggled, two of the agents holding briefcases popped the handles off the cases, and one wrapped the handle on Steve's wrist. It turned out to be a magnetic cuff, and it began to pull his arm towards the metal bars on the elevator. Steve fought the effect, before snapping his wrist down and away.

He hit one attacker and kicked the other agent, making the agent release the other cuff and it went flying to attach itself harmlessly on the side of the elevator. Steve kicked another agent and punched two more before he head-butted the one who still had a chokehold on him, using the man's momentary distraction to twist his arm away and then flipping him over onto the floor.

Unfortunately, during the process his wrist was brought too close to the metal elevator beams and the cuff attached itself, locking his arm into place. He tugged at it desperately, but noticed movement from the corner of his eye. He looked up as Rumlow tried to hit him with a taser, and Steve blocked Rumlow's swing with his free arm.

Rumlow swung his other fist and Steve was forced to try block the punch, giving Rumlow the opportunity to hit the taser on Steve's back. Steve fought the taser's effect for a moment, groaning in pain, and then grabbed the taser and kicked Rumlow away.

He grabbed the head of another agent as he approached and whacked the man's head into the side of the elevator, hitting the camera and causing the lens to crack. Another agent tried to stun him with a taser, but Steve grabbed the agent's arm and used his momentum to instead plunge the taser into another attacker.

He then lifted himself to kick both agents by doing an almost split-legged jump, before he landed on the ground. He kicked another agent as the man approached and used the leverage to hop onto the side of the elevator. Using his whole body weight and strength, Steve pulled his wrist off enough to release the magnetic pull.

He dropped towards the ground but spun in mid air to land perfectly on his feet before he elbowed and punched the two agents that had tried to sneak up on him. He knocked them out as Rumlow stood up, and it was now just the two of them.

"Woah, big guy." Rumlow soothed as he held up two tasers, one in each hand, like knives. Steve glared at him, and Rumlow said softly: "I just want you to know, Cap, this ain't personal!"

At the last word, he swung at Steve, and Steve blocked him, grabbing his swinging arm, but Rumlow used that against him. He used Steve's now exposed body to swing the other taser into Steve's stomach, making the super soldier grimaced in pain.

Steve broke out by freeing his blocking arm and swinging punches at Rumlow, which the agent swiftly dodged before aiming another swing at Steve's stomach. Steve groaned in pain, before punching Rumlow's arm. He used his free arm to swing Rumlow up into the elevator roof, hard, and Rumlow fell to the ground unconscious. Steve hissed through the pain and he was breathing heavily from exhaustion as he bit out: "It kind of feels personal."

He kicked up his shield from the ground, attaching it to his arm and he smashed it down on the magnetic cuff on his other wrist, breaking it. He tapped the elevator, making it switch back on and the doors opened to reveal an entire squadron of STRIKE agents. He jerked, tensing as the one in front ordered: "Drop the shield! Put your hands in the air!"

Steve spun, using his shield to break the elevator cables. The elevator dropped into free fall, before the emergency brakes switched on automatically and it screeched to a halt. Steve braced himself so that he didn't go flying before he quickly tugged at the elevator doors, caught between two floors.

But as he slid the doors open, he saw another squadron of armed SHIELD agents coming down the hall and he quickly shut the doors again, grunting a little at the effort. He glanced out the elevator- it was still a fairly long drop down, but he was also right above the courtyard. If he broke through the glass roof, he'd be right at the doors to get out of the Triskelion.

He slowly backed up as the agents banged on the elevator doors, calling: "Give it up, Rogers! Get that door open! You have nowhere to go!" Steve proved them wrong as he ran at the elevator glass wall, using his shield to smash through. He fell through the air, and braced himself behind his shield as she crashed through the glass roof below.

He landed heavily in the main courtyard of the Triskelion, groaning in pain as he got to his feet shakily, but he took off running. He reached the garage and his bike just as the garage doors began to go into lock down. He took off quickly, his tires screeching as he went.

The doors were closing from the top and the bottom, so Steve quickly lifted his bike into the air, forcing it to jump. He barely managed to get through the gap, and the doors slammed shut right behind him. He was just racing down the road when the front gates went into lockdown as well, the tire pikes lifting to prevent unauthorized access and departure.

A quinjet appeared from behind as well, and it flew past him to come to a stop, hovering in the middle of the road and blocking his path as the pilot called through the speakers: "Stand down, Captain Rogers. Stand down."

Steve watched, still racing his bike down the street, as the quinjet's guns were released and pointed at him. "Repeat, stand down." The pilot called and when he simply sped up, they began to fire at him. Steve swerved out of the line of fire and threw his shield. It jammed in an engine on the wing, causing the jet to dip and Steve stood up on his bike.

He pulled the brakes sharply, making the bike flip and he used the momentum to launch himself at the quinjet, while his bike crashed below. He tumbled over the roof of the jet to land on his feet by his shield. He pulled it out, making the engine work and the jet suddenly tipped back upright.

Steve went flying but he thrust his shield down into the other wing, gaining a firm hold on the quinjet even as he was tipped over and off the edge. But with his leverage he swung himself up again, landing in the center of the roof and he threw his shield at the rear tail. It bounced off the sides at the perfect angles, blowing out the tails as he ran after his shield.

Steve jumped of the jet, caught his shield, and landed safely on the streets, outside the Triskelion, now on the street side of the front gates. The quinjet meanwhile went spiraling down, unable to keep balanced without its tail and it crashed onto the bridge behind him as he stood and quickly made his way down the streets and out of sight.

* * *

Arianna P.O.V.

 _Crap_. She thought. Arianna was in a tight pinch, and unfortunately she knew it. After leaving Steve last night, she'd been attacked by a group of mercenaries a few blocks down from her apartment. She'd made as quick work of them as possible, sustaining a minor wound to the side, but the problem wasn't the mercenaries or the injury, it was what their arrival meant.

Sure enough, she soon received an automatic SHIELD notification calling for all agents to come in; Foxtrot was down. Her heart thundered, unable to believe Fury had been shot. He was, as Tony had so eloquently put it, _the spy_ and it wasn't an easy feat taking him down. She realized that was probably the only reason she'd made it out alive- their enemy had sent their best man after Fury.

Her heart clenched in fear for the Director, but she knew better than to go check on him. And besides, she had her own problems to deal with. The attack on Fury and herself could only mean SHIELD was compromised; but what's more, it meant that their mole knew she had been working with Fury on finding him or her.

When Arianna was done with her attackers, she went on the run immediately. Hiding quickly in an alley, she wrapped her bleeding side and then disappeared without a trace. Her enemy would know where she lived, and she didn't dare return to her apartment.

She also couldn't return to SHIELD; it would make her an easy target for their mole. These people wanted them stopped, and the next step after Fury was taken out would be to take her down. The question was why? What had sparked their retaliation? She hadn't made further progress, so the sudden attacks indicated that Fury had discovered something.

And the only change that she was aware of was his acquisition of that flash drive. Arianna grit her teeth as she realized that would have to be her next step as well. Find the disk, get the information on it, and finish the job Fury had given her. She fiddled with her locket as she began to plan her next move.

The only problem was, where was the flash drive now? She thought about it and almost groaned aloud. _Steve_. If Fury was injured and carrying the disk, there was only one place he would go. He wouldn't risk going to Arianna when it became confirmed SHIELD was compromised, and he had only one other place he could go where he could trust the other person.

But it was only a hunch and Arianna didn't have time to waste following false leads. She hesitated but decided she'd have to risk it. She needed to hack into SHIELD.


	17. Fugitives

Steve P.O.V.

He walked into the hospital, heading for the ER section, or rather the vending machine outside it. He'd stolen some civilian clothes, and made his way dressed in loose training pants, trainers, and a hoodie, with the hood up just in case.

He stopped before the vending machine, and then froze. The gum slot where he'd hidden the flash drive was empty, all the gum and the drive gone. He stared at it with a frown when suddenly a familiar redhead appeared behind him. He saw her casually blow a pink bubble through the reflection on the glass as she stopped behind him.

He turned slowly, before shoving her quickly into the room opposite. He slammed her into the wall, shutting the door as he pulled down his hood and stared at her angrily, demanding quietly: "Where is it?"

"Safe." She replied shortly and he snapped: "Do better." "Where did you get it?" She bit out, and he snarled: "Why would I tell you?" Her eyes narrowed as she figured it out anyway and she realized: "Fury gave it to you. Why?"

"What's on it?" Steve countered, and she replied, sounding a little exasperated: "I don't know." "Stop lying!" Steve ordered as he pinned her harder to the wall, and she snapped back pointedly: "I only act like I know everything, Rogers."

Steve paused, glanced around and then spat at her: "I bet you knew Fury hired the pirates, didn't you?" Her eyes flickered and she muttered: "Well, it makes sense. The ship was dirty, Fury needed a way in, so do you. Ria's guard on me only confirmed it."

Steve grabbed her shoulders as he growled at her: "I'm not gonna ask you again." She glared at him, and searched his eyes briefly before she told him flatly: "I know who killed Fury."

That made Steve pause and she told him in a low undertone: "Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe he exists, the ones who do call him the Winter Soldier. He's credited with over two dozen assassinations in the last fifty years."

"So he's a ghost story." Steve said flatly, and she replied just as flatly: "Five years ago I was escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran, somebody shot at my tires near Odessa. We lost control, went straight over a cliff, I pulled us out, but the Winter Soldier was there. I was covering my engineer, so he shot him straight through me."

She lifted her shirt slightly to reveal a scar on her stomach just beside her belly button. Steve glanced at it and then back at her as she told him: "A Soviet slag, no rifling." Steve recalled her saying that earlier with Fury, and he frowned. Nat added a little sarcastically: "Bye-bye bikinis."

"Yeah, I bet you look terrible in them now." Steve muttered just as sarcastically. Nat almost smiled at that, but then she became serious again as she told him: "Going after him a dead end. I know, I've tried." She finally held up the flash drive, pulling it from her pocket as she said dryly: "Like you said, he's a ghost story."

Steve eyed her carefully before he took the drive. He pocketed it himself as he said monotonously: "Well, let's find out what the ghost wants."

* * *

As the pair walked through the mall, Steve couldn't help but feel uneasy. He felt too exposed and continuously glanced around, checking their surroundings when Nat said quietly, sounding a little annoyed: "First rule of going on the run is, don't run, walk."

Steve turned back to face the front as he muttered: "If I run in these shoes, they're gonna fall off." Nat almost smirked as she led them up the escalator, heading for the Apple shop on the second floor. As she turned on one of the Macs on display, Steve lowered his cap further over his face, trying to cover it as much as possible while not looking too suspicious.

He scrutinized the screen through his fake glasses as Nat explained quietly: "The drive has a level six homing program, so as soon as we boot up SHIELD will know exactly where we are."

"How much time do we have?" Steve asked tensely as he looked around the shop again, and Nat murmured slowly: "Uh...about nine minutes from..." she plugged in the flash drive and finished: "now."

She began to type quickly, and searched through the files, muttering: "Fury was right about that ship, somebody's trying to hide something. This drive is protected by some sort of AI, it keeps rewriting itself to counter my commands."

"Can you override it?" Steve asked tensely as he peered over her shoulder, and Nat said grudgingly: "The person who developed this is slightly smarter than me. Slightly." "Makes you wish Ria was here." Steve muttered, and Nat retorted with a small snort: "You always wish Ria was here."

Steve didn't reply, and Nat returned to business as she explained to him under her breath: "I'm gonna try running a tracer. This is a program that SHIELD developed to track hostile malware, so if we can't read the file," the screen opened to a satellite map as Nat murmured, "maybe we can find out where it came from."

"Can I help you guys with anything?" An Apple assistant asked them as he walked over. Steve tensed but Nat said easily: "Oh, no." She hugged Steve warningly as she said blithely, smiling at the assistant: "My fiancé was just helping me with some honeymoon destinations."

"Right. We're getting married." Steve added, his tone just a tad annoyed at her. She ignored it as she turned back to the computer while Steve covered her, and the Apple assistant said cheerily: "Congratulations. Where do you guys thinking about going?"

Steve glanced at the screen, which was showing a signal from… "New Jersey." Steve told the man, who replied lightly: "Oh."

He then stared at Steve intently, making the super soldier shift just slightly as he prepared for a fight, when the assistant said a little excitedly: "I have the exact same glasses."

Steve blinked in surprise, but Nat once again took it in stride as she mocked, not even looking up: "Wow, you two are practically twins." "Yeah, I wish." The assistant snorted. He then gestured at Steve's general body as he added admiringly: "Specimen."

Unfortunately, the word hit a little too close to home for Steve. His heart clenched and he swallowed painfully, but the man thankfully didn't notice as he finished off cheerily: "Uh...if you guys need anything, I've been Aaron."

"Thank you." Steve replied casually, and the man walked away. Steve turned back to Nat as he said in an urgent undertone: "You said nine minutes, come on." "Shh, relax." Nat smirked. "Got it."

The satellite zoomed in on the address, and it popped up: 'Wheaton, NJ'. She smiled at Steve, but it dropped as he leaned in intently, staring at the words. She asked, her eyes narrowing: "You know it?"

"I used to." Steve murmured, before he said quickly: "Let's go." He pulled out the flash drive, neither noticing a small blip on the screen right before he did, and the two quickly exited. As they left the store and headed down the floor, Steve glanced around quickly.

He muttered to Nat, urgently: "Standard tac-team. Two behind, to across, two coming straight at us. If they make us, I'll engage, you hit the south escalator to the metro." "Shut up and put your arm around me, laugh at something I said." Nat ordered tensely.

"What?" Steve asked, bewildered, and she snapped: "Do it!" Steve did as he was told, placing an arm around her shoulder and turning his head towards her as he chuckled lightly. They passed the two agents coming from the front and Steve looked back as the agents didn't even spare them a glance, unable to believe it worked.

They easily made their way back to the escalators, heading down. Nat stood in front of Steve, and he was looking around the upper floor again, when Nat suddenly turned around and hissed quietly: "Kiss me."

"What?" Steve asked, unable to believe what he'd heard, and Nat said very quickly: "Public displays of affection make people very uncomfortable." "Yes, they do." Steve pointed out, and she looked extremely annoyed as she just grabbed the back of his neck, pulling his head down to her level so that she could kiss him.

They stayed like that for a moment, Steve more stunned than anything, before Nat let him go. She turned and began to walk down the rest of the escalator, asking lightly over her shoulder: "You still uncomfortable?" "It's not exactly the word I would use." Steve muttered back as he walked after her.

* * *

Steve drove them down to New Jersey in the jeep, and as they arrived at the state, Nat asked him curiously as she propped her feet on the dashboard: "Where did Captain America learn how to steal a car?"

"Nazi Germany." Steve replied shortly and Nat almost snorted in amusement. He added sternly: "And we're borrowing. Take your feet off the dash." He nodded at them, and Nat glanced at him again as she slowly complied.

"Alright, I have a question for you." Nat began and Steve waited but she started rambling: "Of which you do not have to answer. I feel like if you don't answer it though, you're kind of answering it, you know?"

"What?" Steve interrupted, half curious half annoyed, and she asked with a smirk: "Was that your first kiss since 1945?" Steve's heart clenched, but he refused to think about Arianna. He tried to keep things light as he replied: "That bad, huh?"

"I didn't say that." Nat protested, and he pointed out: "Well, it kind of sounds like that's what you're saying."

"No, I didn't, I just kind of wondered how much practice you've had-" Nat argued, and Steve rolled his eyes as he retorted: "You don't need practice-"

"Everybody needs practice." Nat interjected and he finally admitted shortly: "No, that was not my first kiss since 1945." She looked triumphant as she turned away and Steve almost cursed himself. Almost.

"So, that's what shook Ria, huh? You kissed her." Nat said amused and Steve clenched his hands on the wheel. He didn't respond but Nat just continued, blatantly ignoring his discomfort: "I told you, you needed to wait. She's not ready for a relationship, especially with Captain America."

"What, as opposed to with someone else?" Steve scoffed, but he was surprised when Nat replied seriously: "Yes." He glanced at her before looking back at the road.

She asked suddenly: "Did she ever tell you why she ran away from it? From you? Did you ever figure out why she suddenly changed?" He glanced at her again, but didn't reply.

"She's afraid." Nat told him and he snorted.

"No, I asked her if she ran because she didn't want me or if she was afraid. She told me neither, and I don't think she was lying." Steve retorted and Nat retorted: "Did you phrase it exactly like that?"

He paused, his eyes narrowing slightly as he thought about it.

"Why, would it make a difference?" He asked slowly and Nat answered seriously: "We're spies. We're trained to find loopholes. She could easily have answered your question truthfully by making it a half-truth."

Steve fell silent and Nat sighed as she continued: "Look, the truth is a matter of circumstances, it's not all things to all people all the time. And neither is Ria, or me for that matter."

"That's a tough way to live." Steve noted and Nat shrugged as she murmured quietly: "It's a good way not to die, though."

Steve glanced at her and pointed out: "So, you're saying she twisted the truth to, what? What was she trying to achieve?" "She achieved her goal, all right." Nat muttered and Steve snapped, exasperated: "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You didn't question it any further." Nat pointed out. He paused before he said slowly: "You know, it's kind of hard to trust someone when you don't know who that someone really is."

"You trusted Ria." Nat reminded him and he countered: "And look where that's got me." "Yeah." Nat said slowly, internally thinking how ironic Steve's words were, and then she smirked.

"Who do you want me to be?" She asked, almost teasingly, and Steve replied lightly: "How about a friend?"

Nat laughed a little, sounding surprised, but she was serious when she said: "Well, there's a chance you might be in the wrong business, Rogers."

He didn't reply and the rest of the journey was made in silence as both fell into deep thought.

* * *

Arianna P.O.V.

 _Idiot._ Arianna thought as she frowned at the screen, fiddling with her locket. She was sitting in the seventh bus of the day as she combed through SHIELD's files. She was using the moving buses to hide her own location, just in case SHIELD traced her, as she hacked their mainframe.

She had spent the better part of the morning searching all the details of Fury's shooting, his hand in the pirate scheme, and his death report. She also saw, as expected, an alarm raised on Steve as the main suspect behind Fury's death, confirming that he had the flash drive and that the mole was someone powerful in SHIELD.

What she hadn't been able to understand was how this person could move the whole organization. Even if he was as high in position as Fury himself, he couldn't make the whole organization look for a theoretical murderer… unless he wasn't alone. The realization had hit her like a ton of bricks.

The reason they hadn't been able to find the mole, the reason Fury had been taken out once he'd acquired the flash drive. It wasn't one mole, it was more, possibly a whole team. With that knowledge she was now combing through every nook and cranny in the SHIELD database, cursing herself for not realizing this sooner.

 _All that top training, the best in SHIELD; this is pathetic._ She scolded herself as she waited anxiously for her computer to find what she needed. She was also combing the reports on Steve, keeping an eye on it in case SHIELD found him. It was probably about midday when the alert beeped.

She glanced at her screen to see the flash drive had been activated and SHIELD had tracked it, and probably Steve, to a small mall in Washington. She wasn't too worried- the fact that he'd chosen a mall meant he knew he had to be quick in his search before SHIELD tracked him, although she wasn't sure how Steve knew that.

His knowledge on technology was pretty limited, but she figured he'd be smart enough to know there was a trace. She could only hope he knew to get out before they found him. If he didn't… well, she'd be the first to know.

But right now, she decided to trust him and instead of trying to find where he was now, she tried to hack the computer he was working on. Letting go of her locket she began typing furiously. It was difficult, especially since she was nowhere near on-site, but she just needed to see if she could figure out where he would be headed next.

She was surprised when her search came up with a satellite map of 'Wheaton, NJ'. Apparently, Steve had chosen to look up the track where the file had come from. That told her the file was encrypted- big surprise- and he hadn't been able to crack the encryption- again, big surprise.

What did surprise her was that he'd managed to think of tracing its origin. Because even if his technical knowledge went that far, which was a stretch in and of itself, he most certainly wasn't capable of actually acting out that plan. _He has an accomplice._ Arianna realized. But who… _Nat._

Of course, he would only trust someone he knew right now, or trust at least partially. That made the list rather short, and only Nat had the technical skills to hack the drive's origin trace besides Arianna herself.

Well, Nat or Tony, but Arianna had a feeling she would know if it was Tony helping Steve. 'Undercover' and 'covert' were not words Tony was associated with. Besides, Tony was still mostly recovering from having his arc reactor removed and spending some deserved quality time with Pepper.

But the more important question was, could Steve trust Nat? Should _Arianna_ trust Nat? Before this week, she would've answered 'yes' in a heartbeat. Now… now, she wasn't so sure.

She sighed, wishing Clint was here and banished that thought immediately. She trusted him and that could be a fatal mistake right now. She made a face- now she was doubting Clint, too.

 _Well,_ she thought comfortingly, _I also don't want him to badger me about Steve._ She winced at the thought. Okay, not so comforting. She started to pack up quickly, deciding she needed to get to New Jersey as quickly as possible, when her computer beeped again.

She glanced down to see it had finally found something, a file that was locked and guarded. The same file that was probably on the flash drive. She glanced at her watch- she probably had seven more minutes before she had to move. She quickly typed into her computer, working against the system as it tried to block her.

She finally cracked through the encryption, although it wouldn't hold and she only had one minute before her enemies found out they'd been hacked and came after her. She quickly scrolled through and froze as the first image popped up.

Her blood ran cold as she stared at the familiar skull emblem in horror, confirming her worst suspicions. Her hand moved straight to touch her locket and she could only think one word: _Steve._


	18. HYDRA

Steve P.O.V.

It was almost dark when they stopped before the abandoned military base. As they got out of the car, Steve asked: "This is it?" "The file came from these coordinates." Nat replied as she checked her phone, and Steve remarked darkly: "So did I."

Nat looked at him in surprise but Stave was staring at the sign on the gate: 'Camp Lehigh'. He stared at it pensively more another minute before he muttered to Natasha: "Come on, let's go."

He led the way inside the camp, and they began to scour the camp. Sensing Nat's curiosity, Steve finally explained: "This camp is where I was trained." "Changed much?" Nat asked lightly, and Steve replied softly: "A little."

He paused as he saw the empty flag post, remembering his training back before the serum. He could almost see his smaller self trying to run with the other soldiers, and he could almost hear the trainer's condescending shouting: "Pick up the pace, ladies! Let's go! Let's go! Double time! Come on Rogers, move it!"

He sighed as he remembered, but he was broken from his thoughts as Nat commented: "This is a dead end. Zero heat signature, zero waves, not even radio." Steve turned to her, but noticed something as Nat continued: "Whoever wrote the file must have used a router to throw people off."

Steve wasn't listening as he stared at the building behind Nat, and she saw his stare. She turned, asking with a frown: "What is it?" He walked towards it with a deep frown and she followed as he explained: "Army regulations forbid storing ammunition within five hundred yards from the barracks. This building is in the wrong place."

He paused at the door, noticing the lock. He used his shield to cut the lock quickly, and the sharp snap echoed around the empty camp. Steve slowly led the way downstairs, and Nat switched on the lights carefully . They flickered to show a large eagle emblem on the far wall, and Nat commented slowly: "This is SHIELD."

They looked around the office and Steve said slowly: "Maybe where it started." They made their way slowly down the room, and spotted a side room at the far side of the room. Steve carefully led the way inside, to find it was an old, dusty office. It was a familiar design, clearly made in the 40s or early 50s, but that wasn't what made him pause.

Nat also noticed and she commented as Steve stopped before the three pictures hanging on the wall: "There's Stark's father." "Howard." Steve murmured, staring at the pictures of Colonel Philips, Howard, and…

"Who's the girl?" Nat asked, and Steve didn't answer, turning away from the picture of the younger Peggy Carter. He slowly walked down the office, and Nat glanced at the picture one more time before she followed him.

Steve paused by one of the empty bookshelves as he heard a faint breeze behind it, as though air passing through a crack in the wall. He looked around the office and as Nat joined him he asked puzzled: "If you already working in a secret office..." He pushed the bookcase and it creaked.

He shoved it completely to the side and stared at what it revealed. "Why do you need to hide the elevator?" He finished, and Nat glanced at him before she walked in. She used her phone scanner on the keypad to hack to code, and the pair got into the elevator.

It went further down, heading even deeper into the basement before it dinged. The doors slid open to reveal a completely dark room; the only light was from the elevator. They moved slowly and carefully inside, and as the elevator doors slid shut behind them, the lights in the room turned on automatically.

It revealed a large computer system at the far end of the room, but the system was old, at least fifty years old. The whole room was filled with old computer hard drives, also indicating the age of the technology and Nat said confused: "This can't be the data-point, this technology is ancient."

She turned to the computer, and noticed a small flash drive port, much newer than the rest of the tech. She walked over to it slowly, and slowly took out the flash drive, plugging it in. Immediately, the computer activated, all the hard drives in the room spinning to get the machine going.

As the screen flickered on, a small camera on the top of the computer switched on and turned to them. The computer asked in a pre-programmed voice as the words also appeared on one of the large screens: "Initiate system?"

Nat slowly approached the keyboard and said as she typed: "Y-E-S, spells yes." She grinned as the computer whirred and she asked a little humorously: "'Shall we play a game'?" She then added for Steve's benefit: "It's from a movie that..."

"I know, yeah, I saw it." Steve interrupted. Nat looked at him in surprise, but Steve was remembering with another pang _who_ had shown it to him. Nat saw his face and raised a brow, clearly understanding, but the computer screen began to buzz as it slowly revealed a face while the camera pointed at Steve.

An old voice, still crackly as the computer slowly started to activate the program: "Rogers, Steven. Born, 1918." They frowned as the camera moved to Natasha and continued, the voice becoming clearer and a strange accent becoming heavier: "Romanoff, Natalia Alianovna. Born, 1984."

"It's… some kind of a recording." Natasha said slowly, sounding confused, but the computer corrected as the computerized face became clearer: "I am not a recording, Fräulein. I may not be the man I was when the Captain took me prisoner in 1945, but I am." Steve's eyes widened as a smaller screen on the side showed a picture of none other than Dr. Arnim Zola.

"You know this thing?" Nat asked confused as she looked at Steve, who was looking horrified. He slowly moved around the computer as he finally answered: "Arnim Zola was a German scientist who worked for the Red Skull. He's been dead for years."

He examined the computer from behind as he circled it, while Zola corrected: "First correction, I am Swiss. Second, look around you. I have never been more alive." Steve and Nat looked around the room filled with hard drives.

Zola explained: "In 1972 I received a terminal diagnosis. Science could not save my body, my mind, however, that was worth saving on two hundred thousand feet of data banks. You are standing in my brain."

Steve walked back to the front of the screen as he asked sharply: "How did you get here?" "Invited." Zola answered slyly. Nat explained slowly, although she still sounded puzzled: "It was Operation Paperclip after World War II. SHIELD recruited German scientists with… strategic values."

"They thought I could help their cause." Zola added, and then he added with a proverbial smirk: "I also helped my own." "HYDRA died with the Red Skull." Steve snapped and Zola replied easily: "Cut off one head," the screen showed the familiar skull with six tentacles emblem, "two more shall take its place." His face on the screen split into two to prove his point.

"Prove it." Steve challenged, and Zola called: "Accessing archive." They turned sharply as another screen showed the face of Johann Schmidt before he became Red Skull, and Zola explained: "HYDRA was founded on the belief that humanity could not be trusted with its own freedom."

Steve slowly stepped up to the screen, numb with shock as he watched he Nazi soldiers make the famous Hitler salute. The screen then showed footage of the Alliance soldiers as Zola continued: "What we did not realize, was that if you try to take that freedom, they resist."

The screen showed footages of Captain America as Zola mused: "The war taught us much. Humanity needed to surrender its freedom willingly. After the war," the screen showed photographs of Howard and Peggy in the office upstairs, "SHIELD was founded and I was recruited."

He showed them news clippings of himself, interlaced with the HYDRA emblem as he said lovingly: "The new HYDRA grew. A beautiful parasite inside SHIELD. For seventy years HYDRA has been secretly feeding crisis," the screen showed various news clippings and footages of the wars since 1945, "reaping war."

"And when history did not cooperate," it showed a small figure with its gun raised clearly in the middle of an assassination, "history was changed."

Nat interjected tightly: "That's impossible, SHIELD would have stopped you."

"Accidents will happen." Zola replied darkly as the screen showed the news clipping of Howard's car accident, and then the recent file on Fury as it was marked 'DECEASED', and then the street fight with- Steve's heart stopped- Arianna before she disappeared into the night, clutching a wounded side.

Steve and Nat clenched their fists as Zola continued: "HYDRA created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security." The screen showed various shots of security cameras, satellites, and finally Project Insight. "Once the purification process is complete, HYDRA's new world order will arise."

"We won, Captain." Zola cackled as Steve's knuckles went white. "Your death," the screen showed various articles on Steve and his 'heroic' acts, "amounts to the same as your life," Zola's face reappeared on the screen, "a zero sum."

Steve punched the screen in anger, and it blanked as it shattered. Steve was breathing heavily, but Zola continued as his face reappeared on a smaller screen: "As I was saying..."

What's on this drive?" Steve demanded as he pointed at the flash drive, and Zola explained: "Project Insight requires insight. So I wrote an algorithm."

"What kind of algorithm? What does it do?" Nat interjected impatiently, and Zola replied lightly: "The answer to your question is fascinating. Unfortunately, you shall be too dead to hear it." They whipped around as the blast doors in front of the elevator doors began to close.

Steve threw his shield quickly to try and stop it, but it was too late and his shield bounced off the shut doors. He caught it again as it boomeranged back to him, while Nat pulled out her phone as it beeped a warning.

"Steve, we've got a bogie." She warned, and Steve turned to her and she told him tightly: "Short range ballistic," she looked at him, "thirty seconds, tops."

"Who fired it?" He demanded and Nat admitted tightly: "SHIELD."

Steve stared at her in horror as Zola purred: "I have been stalling Captain." Steve looked around slowly as Nat grabbed the flash drive and Zola cackled: "Admit it, it's better this way."

Steve spun around and spotted a metal grating on the ground. He ran for it, ripping off the grating to reveal a small hole as Zola finished: "We're both of us...out of time."

He grabbed Nat and jumped into the hole just as the whole building exploded from the missile. He used his shield to cover his body as he himself covered Nat as debris fell on them and the whole building came crashing down.

* * *

Arianna P.O.V.

Arianna drove the car she'd commandeered from a local parking lot, driving as quickly as she dared without gaining unwanted attention, her grip on the wheel so tight her knuckles cracked. As soon as she'd read the file on HYDRA, she knew she couldn't waste time. Steve could not activate that flash drive.

She had just made it to the outskirts of the compound when she saw something that made her heart drop. A missile. There was nothing she could do, besides speed up as it blasted into a building on the other side of the military training camp. She slammed on the brakes as the place blew and she watched with her heart hammering while her gut twisted as the building collapsed in on itself.

 _No. Please, God, no._ She thought desperately as she drove her 'borrowed' car around to the far side, hiding it from view just in case. She quickly slipped out and headed over to the still burning and smoking debris, searching with her eyes frantically.

She finally spotted something in the far corner and headed over. "Steve?" She called quietly as she saw a figure climb out of what appeared to be a hole. He whipped around sharply, lifting his shield but paused when he saw her.

Her eyes widened as she saw Nat in his arms, unconscious, but she paused as she heard something. They both turned sharply as they heard the distinct sound of flying engines, and Arianna hissed: "Quickly, follow me!"

He did as she said, and she led him away as the STIRKE team arrived in quinjets, flying overhead. Using the debris and flames as a cover to make their escape, Arianna quickly led Steve to her car.

Steve slid into the backseat of the car with Nat as Arianna started the engine, killing all the lights as she drove them away swiftly before the STRIKE team could land and hear them. She drove them out of New Jersey, before asking tightly: "Is she okay?"

"She's breathing." Steve replied curtly, and Arianna asked quietly as she drove down the highway: "Where to now?" He paused before he answered with the only place that he could think of.

* * *

 _June 29, 2013_

Nat woke up as they made it back to Washington, and the trio ditched the car somewhere just outside the city in case they were tracked. Steve led the way, and they followed the man Arianna had seen from the VA as he went home after a morning run around the city.

Once he'd gone inside, Steve was about to go knock when Arianna grabbed him and finally hissed uncertainly: "Are you sure about this?"

He pointed out tightly: "We don't exactly have a lot of options." She let go and he led them quickly to the man's side door. He knocked sharply, and they waited as the blinds behind the door opened and the man looked at them in surprise, particularly taking in Nat and Steve's disheveled looks.

He slowly slid the door open as he greeted cautiously: "Hey, man."

"I'm sorry about this." Steve murmured. "We need a place to lay low." "Everyone we know is trying to kill us." Nat added, and the man looked at them carefully.

"Not everyone." Sam answered and quickly stood aside to let them in, carefully watching their surroundings before he shut the door and slid the blind back down.


	19. Sam Wilson

Steve P.O.V.

Steve finished cleaning up as he washed his hands in Sam's bathroom. Arianna was in the living room with Sam, getting to know the man who'd kindly taken them in while she washed his and Nat's outerwear for them. Nat sat in Sam's bedroom, drying her hair casually, but Steve could see she was extremely shaken.

He stepped out of the bathroom, leaning on the doorway as he asked her seriously: "You okay?"

She glanced at him and shrugged it off, muttering: "Yeah."

He examined her and then walked over, sitting before her as he asked concernedly: "What's going on?"

She searched his eyes for a minute, and then she finally said slowly: "When I first joined SHIELD, I thought it was going straight." She averted her eyes as she muttered: "But I guess I just traded in the KGB for HYDRA."

She paused as she played with her hands and she continued slowly: "I thought I knew whose lies I was telling, but...I guess I can't tell the difference anymore." She admitted with a mirthless smile.

"There's a chance you might be in the wrong business" Steve said lightly.

She scoffed as she turned to look at him, and he gave her a tiny smile. She stared at him at length before she said at last: "I owe you."

"It's okay." Steve shrugged, but she wasn't finished.

She asked him seriously: "If it was the other way around, and it was down to me to save your life, and you be honest with me." She added warningly. He just looked at her and she asked him quietly: "Would you trust me to do it?"

He answered her just as seriously: "I would now."

Her face changed, she looked almost shocked at his admittance. Steve cracked a smile as he added, joking half-heartedly: "And I'm always honest."

She examined him as she murmured: "You are, aren't you?"

He shrugged, but paused as she said quietly: "I owe you, so let me give you some advice about Ria. Don't let her push you away. It's not for the reasons you think. And I… I think you can help her as much as she helps you."

Steve frowned as he asked slowly: "Do you always have to talk in riddles?"

Nat smiled faintly at that as she replied: "It's because it's not really my place to tell you. But I want to see her happy… and I want you to be happy, too. You're a good guy, Steve."

He looked at her in surprise, when Sam interrupted as he poked his head in: "I made breakfast. If you guys...eat that sort of thing." He added uncertainly.

Steve almost smiled, particularly when Arianna called from the kitchen: "Oh, they do. Despite how she appears, Nat actually has a soft spot for pancakes."

Sam raised a brow as Nat's brows scrunched. Steve looked at her and he couldn't help himself as he asked bluntly: "Seriously?"

She glared at him and he raised his hands in surrender as Natasha stood up and strode out of the room. Sam glanced at Steve as the blond man stood up, and as Sam was about to leave Steve said quietly: "Hey, man. I just wanted to say thanks. For taking us in."

Sam looked at him in surprise as he replied: "It was no big deal. Besides, from what you and Arianna have told me, it looks like you need all the help you can get."

He sounded a little pensive as he said that, and Steve looked at him questioningly, but Sam shrugged as he nodded to the kitchen.

"Even super soldiers have to eat… don't they?" Sam suggested and Steve nodded.

The men walked in to see Nat and Arianna talking quietly. Arianna had cleaned up a little as well, and her hair was sleek and smooth in a high ponytail. She didn't look very happy with what Nat was saying and she seemed to be touching something on her neck under her shirt.

But when they saw the men walk in, they both shut up and Arianna's hand dropped. Sam looked at them questioningly but Arianna just turned away, and he let it go, deciding it wasn't his place. Nat however gave Steve a look and he raised his brows as she glanced at Arianna meaningfully.

Before he could say anything, Arianna began: "So, I've filled Steve in on most of what I've found, Sam's been debriefed and I'm pretty sure Nat you've figured out most of it."

She turned back to them, carrying plates and handing it to the others as Nat sighed but continued: "Right. So, HYDRA's inside SHIELD, and we can assume it's more than just a couple people."

"Given they managed to fire a missile at you, and brand Captain America as a wanted figure." Arianna finished with a nod.

"You should narrow it down." Sam pointed out as he buttered his toast and Arianna nodded, while Nat said sarcastically: "So, the question is: who in SHIELD could launch a domestic missile strike?"

"Pierce." Steve replied instantly, the word coming out in a mix between a sigh and a growl.

Nat pointed out: "Who happens to be sitting on top of the most secure building in the world."

"Backed by Sitwell and most, if not all, of STIRKE." Arianna added, having managed to uncover some names in her minute's research in the HYDRA file.

Steve sighed: "So, the real question is: how do the three most wanted people in Washington kidnap a SHIELD officer in broad daylight?"

"The answer is: you don't." Sam replied as he walked over and placed a folder on the table before the trio.

"What's this?" Steve asked, and Sam replied: "Call it a resume."

They leaned in to see a photograph in the front, and Nat asked incredulously as she picked it up: "Is this Bakhmala? The Khalid Khandil mission, that was you?"

Sam nodded, and Nat commented to Steve: "You didn't say he was a para-rescue."

Steve ignored the jibe as he took the photograph and examined it. He asked as he looked at the man beside Sam in the photograph: "Is this Riley?"

"Yeah." Sam nodded while Arianna frowned and she said slowly: "I heard they couldn't bring in the choppers because of the RPGs."

Nat asked Sam curiously: "What did you use, a stealth chute?"

"No. These."

Sam held up the rest of the file, which was labeled 'Falcon', and Steve opened it. He froze as he read it and he looked at Sam as he asked in disbelief: "I thought you said you're a pilot."

"I never said 'a pilot'." Sam corrected with an amused smile.

Steve grinned back, although it was more because he was stunned. _Agents._ He sighed, but it was a spite-less jibe as he looked back at the file thoughtfully. He finally said, as Arianna and Nat took the file to look at it as well: "I can't ask you to do this, Sam. You got out for a good reason."

"Dude," Sam replied firmly, "Captain America needs my help. There's no better reason to get back in."

Steve glanced back down at the file now in Arianna's hands. She glanced at him, and she nodded minutely when Steve's eyes slide over to her. Steve took a deep breath before he asked Sam: "Where can we get our hands on one of these things?"

"The last one is at Fort Meade," Sam told them, "behind three guarded gates and a twelve-inch steel wall."

Steve glanced at the two agents, who both shrugged casually. It was actually a little unnerving how exact their movements mirrored each other, and when Steve looked back at Sam he could see the other man was also staring at the pair with an odd look on his face.

Steve interjected, as he replied to Sam: "Shouldn't be a problem."

Sam nodded, before asking the women: "Are you two related?"

They blinked in surprise while Steve snorted in amusement. He caught Arianna's eye and was surprised when she slowly gave him a small, amused smile. It had been the first genuine smile since their kiss, and he blinked in shock as she turned away.

He glanced at Nat, who'd caught the exchange, and the Russian smirked at him as she too looked away again. Steve looked down at the file and wondered if things were finally coming right.

* * *

Arianna P.O.V.

"I saw that earlier."

Arianna glanced up from where she was typing as Nat sat beside her, smirking.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Arianna replied lightly, and Nat snorted as she retorted: "Sure you don't."

"You're the one who said I shouldn't let personal feelings get in the way right now, not with so much at stake." Arianna pointed out tersely as she typed quickly, both women keeping an eye down below as Sitwell walked into view with a man they recognized as Senator Stern.

"Mhm, you keep telling yourself that's all it is." Nat shrugged and Arianna grit her teeth, annoyed.

"Look, Nat, I appreciate it, but you know as well as I do that it'd never work." She said, trying to sound neutral as she typed the last bit of code and gained access to Sitwell's phone.

"We're in." Arianna called into her ear comm, and Steve replied shortly: "Stay connected. Falcon?"

"Ready when you are Cap." Sam replied, and Arianna kept her finger hovering over the enter key as they watched the Senator say farewell to Sitwell.

"Never say never." Nat continued their personal conversation and Arianna retorted: "Why don't you find a boyfriend, and stop trying to hook me up with Captain America."

"Your love life is more interesting." Nat shrugged. "And I'm not trying to hook you up with Captain America, I'm trying to show you why you're being stupid in running away from Steve Rogers."

Arianna glared at Nat pointedly, before Steve called: "We're clear."

Arianna pressed the enter key, and Sam lifted his phone. The women watched from above, Nat taking position by the edge of the roof as Sitwell's phone rang. He glanced at it and then sent away his guards, as they'd expected him to.

"Yes, sir?" Sitwell answered his phone, thinking it was Pierce.

They could all listen in as Arianna's hacking connected Sitwell to Sam, who greeted: "Agent Sitwell, how was lunch? I hear the crab cakes here are delicious."

"Who is this?" Sitwell demanded, and Sam replied lightly: "The good looking guy in the sunglasses, your ten o'clock."

Arianna and Nat watched as Sitwell turned, and Sam corrected: "Your other ten o'clock."

Sitwell turned again, spotting Sam sitting at a nearby café.

"There you go." Sam said condescendingly, and Arianna suppressed a snort.

"What do you want?" Sitwell demanded.

Sam replied easily: "You're gonna go around the corner, to your right. There's a grey car, two spaces down. You and I are gonna take a ride."

"And why would I do that?" Sitwell scoffed, and Nat cocked her gun as Sam replied: "Because that tie looks really expensive," Sitwell glanced down to see the red dot from Nat's sniper on his chest, "and I'd hate to mess it up."

Sitwell glanced around desperately, but Nat and Arianna had taken careful precautions. There was no way the agent was going to be able to spot two of SHIELD's top assassins. Arianna held the line between Sitwell and Sam until Sitwell got into Steve's car, and she shut the computer down.

"Ready?" She asked Nat who turned casually.

"Let's go." Nat replied lightly and the two quickly made their way to the rendezvous point. Nat asked lightly as they went: "So?"

"No, Nat." Arianna replied tiredly, and Nat frowned.

"Come on." She complained, and Arianna groaned. "Ria, think about it. He's not perfect either; I'd say he probably has about the same amount of blood on his hands as you do. He did fight in a war, after all."

"Yes, but the blood on my hands include innocent people, killed in cold blood." Arianna pointed out and Nat countered: "You didn't know they were innocent when you were sent in."

"Doesn't change the fact that they were." Arianna retorted.

"It's not like I don't see your point." Nat pointed out. "I know as well as, if not better, than you do what it's like to look in the mirror and hate the face looking back at you. I also know what it's like to not trust people easily- or at all."

Arianna snorted slightly, but her amusement disappeared as Nat added seriously: "But Clint taught me to get over than and move on with my life, and I know we've taught you that lesson as well, Ria."

Arianna didn't reply at the not so subtle reminder of her rehab sessions after her disastrous mission in Russia almost five years ago. Nat sighed.

"Look, think about him." Natasha said as she changed tactics. "He's lost so much already," Arianna's stomach twisted, "and now you're taking away his shot at happiness here in the present."

"I wouldn't call dating a trained killer a shot at happiness." Arianna commented dryly but she could feel a twinge of guilt.

Nat shrugged. "Tom _a_ to, tom _a_ to." She replied airily and Arianna sighed.

"Why do you care so much? You weren't adamant about this at all, just annoying. Now you're being persistently annoying." Arianna groaned and Nat paused.

She said quietly: "Because I trust him now. I saw just how good a guy he was and, Ria, I believe he will take care of you. There're very few people I would say the same about."

Arianna didn't answer and Nat added dryly: "And don't think Clint and I haven't noticed how attached you are to that locket."

Arianna's hand automatically touched the item in question before she even thought about it. She cursed herself for giving herself away, and quickly lowered her hand as Nat finished softly: "Just think about it. You don't have to keep the world out forever, and even with HYDRA and SHIELD, I don't think you're nearly the bad person you think you are."

Arianna's cold mask slipped into place as she struggled against conflicting emotions. Nat saw and understood, and she wisely decided to let it go for the moment as they arrived on the pre-arranged rooftop of a thirty-plus-floor building.

They waited, and a few minutes later Sitwell came flying through the rooftop door, landing heavily on his side as Steve strode out after him.

"Tell me about Zola's algorithm." Steve ordered and both women slid into agent mode, moving to flank Steve as Sitwell replied quickly: "Never heard of it."

"What were you doing on the Lemurian Star?" Steve questioned as he backed Sitwell to the edge of the roof.

"I was throwing up, I get seasick." Sitwell replied lightly, although he glanced back nervously as he hit the edge of the roof. Steve grabbed the man by his lapels, barely keeping him on the roof as he glared at Sitwell warningly.

Sitwell just smirked a little as he asked: "Is this little display meant to insinuate that you're going to throw me off the roof? 'Cause it's really not your style Rogers." He pointed out and Steve stared at the other man intently.

He said slowly: "You're right. It's not."

Steve removed his hands from Sitwell's shirtfront, smoothing out the man's suit. Sitwell smirked, but then Steve said simply: "It's hers."

Sitwell looked confused for a second, during which time Steve stepped back and before Sitwell could fully register anything, Nat kicked him off the roof.

Sitwell fell off screaming in terror, and Steve and Arianna looked down to watch his progress as Nat suddenly piped up: "You know, you two are already starting to look like each other. Wedding bells?"

Arianna turned to level a glare at Nat while Steve didn't even look up as he warned shortly: "Nat."

"Hey, I bet Ria would look cute in a white dress." Nat said lightly.

Arianna threw a punch at Nat's arm, which she dodged, as Steve sighed and muttered: "Yeah, I'm not ready to deal with this."

Sitwell screamed as he was thrown back up on the roof as Sam tossed him carelessly before the trio again. Sitwell landed with a heavy thud while the Falcon landed gracefully, folding the metal wings into the backpack on his back.

The trio marched up to Sitwell, all three serious once more, and Sitwell blurted out in terror: "Zola's algorithm is a program..." he held up a hand in surrender as he hesitated before admitting: "For choosing Insight's targets!"

"What targets?" Steve demanded, and Sitwell replied breathlessly: "You. Her."

He gestured vaguely at Arianna, who raised a brow. He listed: "A TV anchor in Cairo, the Undersecretary of Defense, a high school valedictorian in Iowa city. Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange, anyone who's a threat to HYDRA. Now, or in the future."

Nat and Arianna exchanged looks while Steve questioned: "The future? How could it know?"

Sitwell chuckled, still very shaken from his fall, before he snapped: "How could it not?"

He stood up as he said darkly: "The 21st century is a digital book. Zola taught HYDRA how to read it."

Steve and Nat still looked a little puzzled, but Arianna's brow had twitched in understanding. Sitwell saw and he nodded at her as he listed: "Your bank records, medical histories, voting patterns, e-mails, phone calls, your damn SAT scores. Zola's algorithm evaluates peoples' past to predict their future."

"And what then?" Steve asked darkly, and Sitwell paused.

He averted his gaze and he moaned: "Oh, my God. Pierce is gonna kill me."

"What then?!" Steve demanded, taking a threatening step forward and Sam grabbed Sitwell's jacket by the neck in warning.

Both Nat and Arianna also shifted into loosely dangerous fighting stances and Sitwell glanced between all of them nervously, before he finally muttered: "Then the Insight Helicarriers scratch people off the list."

He stared at Steve grimly as he told him: "A few millions at a time."

*A/N I've had some requests to change the formatting to make the story easier to read. Let me know what you guys think, and if you don't like it I'll change it back :)


	20. Winter Soldier

* A/N Several switches in P.O.V. this chapter!

The five were in the car, Sam driving them down the highway quickly as they headed for the Triskelion. The inside of the car was silent, Sitwell sitting between the two master assassins in the back while Steve sat in the passenger seat beside Sam.

Sitwell finally bit out as they drove down an elevated part of the highway: "HYDRA doesn't like leaks."

"So why don't you try sticking a cork in it." Sam retorted, glaring at the man menacingly through the rearview mirror.

Nat slid forward to say to Steve: "Insight's launching in sixteen hours, we're cutting it a little bit close here."

"I know." Steve replied shortly. He didn't look back as he told them: "We'll use him," he nodded at Sitwell, "to bypass the DNA scans and access the Helicarriers directly."

Nat nodded and slid back into her seat while Sitwell whipped around to stare at Steve.

"What?!" He demanded. "Are you crazy? That is a terrible, terrible idea."

There was a thud above them and they all glanced up when suddenly a metal arm smashed the rear windshield and grabbed Sitwell, pulling him out and throwing him. He screamed once before he was cut off as he was run over by a truck while Nat and Arianna turned to stare in horror. The arm detracted but they heard the distinct sound of a gun being pulled from its holster right above their heads. Arianna threw open a door as Nat shot forward to shove Steve aside, covering him as their attacker fired through the roof.

Arianna leaned out the open door, pulling her own gun and she fired at the masked man clinging to their roof just as Sam pulled the brakes. The car skid to an abrupt stop, throwing off their attacker while Arianna was flung forward into the back of Sam's seat.

She looked up dazedly to see the man she assumed was the Winter Soldier tumble over and use his metal hand to skid to a stop, landing upright in a crouched position. They watched as the Winter Soldier stood up and stared right at them. Nat pulled a gun right as Arianna heard tires screeching behind them.

She turned and yelled: "Watch-!"

It was too late and the jeep hit their car from behind, causing them all to jerk forwards and Nat dropped her gun. The jeep kept driving, pushing their car forwards and towards the Winter Soldier as Arianna lifted her arm and fired at the assassin.

He dodged her bullets and jumped, landing on their car roof once more with a loud thud and smashing more windows as he held onto the side of the roofs. Sam slammed on the brakes, trying to stop their car and as Nat searched for her gun on the car floor Arianna fired up through the roof.

The Winter Soldier avoided her bullets as he smashed his metal hand through the windshield, grabbed the wheel and ripped it right out. "Shit!" Sam yelled as Nat found her gun and both women fired at the roof. The Winter Soldier jumped off, and Arianna whipped around to see him land upright on the hood of the jeep behind them.

She raised her arm to fire at it, but the jeep rammed into their car again, sending them skidding against the highway barriers. Arianna was knocked aside as the car started to lose control. Steve grabbed Sam and Nat, who was still on his lap, shifting his shield onto the door as he yelled to them: "Hang on!"

Steve then yelled: "Ria!"

"Just go!" She yelled. Steve used his shield to smash the door off its hinges and the three fell out, landing safely on Steve's shield as Arianna whacked her own door off its hinges and jumped out on that. She got out just in time as the car went flying through the air before it went tumbling around.

Sam had lost his grip on Steve and also rolled, landing right by Arianna. She looked up as the jeep from earlier stopped and the agents inside got out, handing the Winter Soldier what looked like a small bazooka. He aimed and Arianna shouted: "Steve! Nat!"

Steve shoved Nat aside as the Winter Soldier fired, and he barely managed to lift his shield in time to block the shot. The bullet exploded, and the force of the blow sent Steve flying, and Arianna screamed as he went over the edge of the highway: "Steve!"

She heard a crash as he landed through glass somewhere below, but she couldn't worry about him any longer as the HYDRA agents began to fire on her, Nat, and Sam. They ducked for cover behind some cars that had been forced to stop behind them on the highway, the people running away screaming.

A car near Arianna's blew up as the Winter Soldier shot it and she saw Nat jumping away from it and over the side of the highway as well. Luckily, or not, she landed on the other highway, the opposite lane. The good news was she didn't fall to her death like Steve might've. The bad news was she was now forced to avoid bullets and oncoming cars.

Arianna fired at the Winter Soldier, trying to draw him away from Nat. Again, the good news was he did. The bad news was, she was now his new target. He fired at her car and she ran away for different cover as the car exploded. But he fired again just as she ducked behind a different car, avoiding the HYDRA agents' bullets.

The car exploded and went flying, shoving her with it as it flew over the edge of the highway. Arianna shot a grapple gun at the highway barrier, locking onto it so that she could swing down to safety below the highway bridged above her now. She ran for cover, just as Nat came swinging down as well.

Both agents ran for the other side of the bridge, but then spotted the shadow cast from above- the shadow of a large man holding a rifle down right where they would run out to. Without looking at each other, they split up to creep up on the opposite side of the shadow.

The Winter Soldier was waiting for them to run out, when they took one short step out from beneath the bridge and fired at him. He ducked down as one of Arianna's bullets hit his eye area, and she heard a small shattering sound, meaning she'd likely hit his goggles. It wouldn't hurt him but he would be forced to pause for a few more seconds to remove the damaged goggles.

Both women immediately took the opportunity to run, heading for cover by the buildings. Nat began to fire shots up again and Arianna glanced back to see the Winter Soldier firing down at them again. She ducked for cover behind a car as Nat hid behind a truck.

But his machine gun was powerful, and the bullets started piercing right through the car metal, so Arianna began to run again. Nat fired at the Winter Soldier to distract him from Arianna, but a few of the HYDRA agents had joined him in firing at them and she was also forced to run for cover.

Arianna ducked behind cars as she ran down the streets into the city, Nat running to hide in an overturned bus. She paused as she saw Steve slowly getting up inside it, and he blinked at her in surprise as well.

Steve P.O.V.

"Nat?" He asked, when gunshots began to rain down on them.

They ran out towards the other end of the bus, Steve heading for his shield as Nat leapt for cover. Steve grabbed his shield and used it to block the bullets as Nat ran down the street and behind a car. She spotted the Winter Soldier running down the street in the direction Arianna had gone and she cursed.

Steve saw the same thing as he took out the HYDRA agents by deflecting the bullets back at the agents. Sam appeared on the bridge, shooting down at the agents and he spotted the Winter Soldier as well. He yelled at Steve: "Go! I've got this!"

Steve hesitated a fraction longer, looking around for Nat, when she suddenly jumped out from behind a car, holding a bleeding arm even as she shot an agent just as he was getting back up.

"Steve, just go!" She shouted and Steve ran off.

Arianna P.O.V.

Arianna was hiding behind a car as the Winter Soldier began to fire at random cars, making them blow up as he tried to find her. People were running all over the street, screaming as they tried to get away from the mercenary but he was focused on finding the female agent.

He paused as he heard her voice and slowly turned to a nearby car.

He could hear her whispering: "Civilians threatened. I make an LZ, twenty-three hundred block at Virginia Avenue. Rendezvous two minutes."

He slowly pulled out a grenade and rolled it towards the car while he stood up lifted his gun, waiting for her to appear. The grenade went off, the car exploding, and he paused as nothing else happened.

Arianna took that brief second's hesitation and leapt out from where she'd been hiding behind the Winter Soldier, jumping him before he could turn around. She kicked his gun out of his hand as she landed her hands on his shoulders.

He tried to grab her but she used her momentum to swing up, locking her legs around his neck and sitting on his shoulders as she pulled out a thin wire, choking him and causing small cuts in his throat. He reared back, throwing himself back against a car and trying to force her off as he pressed back on the car roof.

She held on but then he swung forwards, throwing her over his head and she landed against a car as he grabbed his gun. Arianna threw a knife at him, hitting his wrist and throwing off his aim as he shot, the bullet harmlessly hitting the ground. He wrenched out the knife and threw it back but she'd already run off and it hit the side of the car she'd been against just seconds before.

He was furious that this woman had managed to land a hit on him twice and his eyes were cold as he spotted her running down the street. She ducked through as many cars as she could as she ran, when a single shot rang out and Arianna gasped in pain. She clutched her side, holding the blood, as she crawled to back up against a car.

Arianna grit her teeth against the pain, glancing over her shoulder at where the shot had come from, but the Winter Soldier landed on the hood of a car on her other side. She whipped her head around as he lifted his gun right at her, and she knew she wouldn't be able to run in time, especially not with her injury.

Arianna grit her teeth, as the Winter Soldier aimed, when Steve suddenly came running, jumping the mercenary.

Steve P.O.V.

The Winter Soldier saw him and turned to meet Steve with his metal arm. Steve raised his shield as the Winter Soldier punched, and there was an almighty ring before the force of the blow sent them both flying back, Steve to the ground and the Winter Soldier to the roof of the car.

He quickly recovered and shot at Steve, but Steve curled behind his shield for cover as the Winter Soldier ran out of bullets. The mercenary slid off the car and Steve ran for better cover as the Winter Soldier drew a smaller shotgun and fired at him. He ran out of bullets again and in the second's pause he needed to switch out magazines, Steve leapt out and hit the gun away.

Steve closed in for close quarter battle, and blocked a few more bullets the Winter Soldier fired before Steve managed to hit the gun away completely with his shield. In the process, the Winter Soldier grabbed the shield, and tried to twist Steve's arm. Steve did a tumble in the air, breaking out of the Winter Soldier's grasp although he lost his grip on his shield.

He threw a punch, which the Winter Soldier blocked with the shield, and this repeated once more before the Winter Soldier landed a punch on Steve with his metal arm, knocking the Captain to the ground, but Steve landed in a crouch on his feet.

Steve paused and then shot up to launch an attack on the Winter Soldier once more. The mercenary retaliated by throwing the shield at him, and Steve barely dodged it as it flew by only to sink into the side of a van behind him. He continued his advance on the Winter Soldier as the mercenary drew a knife, and Steve threw a punch before he dodged the blade.

Steve alternated throwing punches and avoiding the blade, having had practice with Arianna before, although this man's speed and the strength in his thrusts were much more than Aria's could ever be. Steve found an opening when the Winter Soldier made too large a swipe, and punched the mercenary in the face.

As the man reeled from the blow, Steve kicked him hard in the stomach, making him drop the knife as he went flying back. Steve took a flying leap at the Winter Soldier, landing a knee-kick on the mercenary. The Winter Soldier retaliated by kicking him back, and then aiming a punch at Steve, which he blocked.

The two engaged in hand-to-hand combat, neither gaining an upper hand, as each exchanged blows until the Winter Soldier managed to get his metal hand around Steve's neck. He struggled against it and squeezed the mercenary's arm, making it crack a little. The Winter Soldier threw him and Steve landed on the ground as the mercenary took a flying leap at him, his metal arm pulled back for a punch.

Steve rolled away, and the Winter Soldier's punch smashed a hole in the road before he stood up, drawing another knife. Steve almost sighed- this guy had almost has many knifes hidden on him as Ria- but he quickly dodged as the Winter Soldier swiped at him.

The mercenary landed a kick on Steve, whacking him into a van and the Winter Soldier used the moment to strike down on Steve with the knife. Steve barely manage to catch the mercenary's hands, the blade inches from his face, and as the Winter Soldier pressed down with his full weight, Steve shoved his arm a little to the side so that the blade landed in the side of the van.

The Winter Soldier dragged the blade across, through the car's metal side, to try and get Steve's neck as Steve battled to keep the blade away as he slid along the side of the van. As they reached the end of the van, Steve ducked under the Winter Soldier's arm, while the momentum from the push threw the mercenary forward a little.

Steve flipped the mercenary over his head, and as the Winter Soldier landed with a thud, he grabbed his shield stuck in the side of that van, and turned just in time to raise it and block the Winter Soldier's knife as the mercenary swung at him. They exchanged a few more swings, and then Steve knocked the knife out of the Winter Soldier's hand, the mercenary retaliating by punching Steve in the face.

The Winter Soldier kicked at Steve, but Steve blocked it with his shield, ducking to avoid a punch and as the Winter Soldier's swing went over his head, he raised his shield and slammed it down on the mercenary's exposed back, right at the shoulders and where the metal arm connected with the Winter Soldier's body.

The Winter Soldier head-butted him, and Steve was forced to pull his shield back, but he grabbed the Winter Soldier's head and threw him into the air and over his head once more. As the Winter Soldier landed, he rolled to his feet once more but his mask fell off in the process, and Steve saw the man's face for the first time.

Steve froze as the man faced him fully, and he saw the face that haunted him more than any other had.

"Bucky?" He asked, stunned, and the man who had once been his best friend asked blankly: "Who the hell is Bucky?"

He raised his gun to shoot Steve, his eyes dead, but Sam flew past, kicking the soldier to the ground. Bucky quickly jumped back to his feet as Steve stared, too shocked to move. Sam had landed on one side of the street and turned to see Bucky lift his gun at Steve again. Sam opened his mouth, a warning shout just on the tip of his tongue as he saw Steve make no move to defend himself.

There was a sudden whizzing noise and one of Bucky's bullets from his bazooka-style gun came flying at the mercenary's head. Bucky ducked as Steve raised his shield to defend himself as well, and the bullet exploded as it hit the car behind Bucky.

Smoke billowed and Bucky slowly stood up amongst the debris as Steve quickly spun towards the source of the gunshot. He saw Nat leaning heavily against a car with the bazooka gun lifted onto the car hood. She was standing protectively over an extremely pale Arianna, who was clutching her bleeding side as she sat by Nat's feet, staring at where Bucky had been.

Steve looked back at the same spot, but there was nothing there now, only smoke left from the burning car. Steve couldn't move, staring after Bucky as they heard sirens wailing, coming closer towards them. Steve glanced around as they were surrounded by several jeeps, and agents came pouring out, guns raised at the group.

"Drop the shield, Captain! On your knees!" Rumlow yelled as he cocked a gun at Steve. Sam had raised his hands in surrender as agents circled him, and Steve slowly placed his shield on the ground as Rumlow moved to circle him.

"Get on your knees!" Rumlow ordered and Steve raised his hands in surrender as he did as he was ordered. SHIELD, or HYDRA, agents circled him, their guns aimed and ready to fire, while another group of agents circled the two women.

They were all cuffed, and an agent held his gun right at Steve's head, but Rumlow glanced up at a helicopter flying above them and warned the agent: "Put the gun down. Not here. Not here!"

The agent lowered his gun, and the group was taken into custody, shoved into an armored vehicle while Steve was unable to move, still too stunned by his revelations to put up any fight against his captors.

*A/N Thank you to everyone who has commented so far on the formatting! Nice to hear back from my readers. Also, really sorry but updates might be a bit slower from now on as I'm moving into finals week and then summer vacation. I'll try to keep posting regularly, so fingers crossed!


	21. Truth

"It was him." Steve said numbly as they rode in the armored car. "He looked right at me and he didn't even know me."

His hands were cuffed in heavy metal restraints specially designed for him that kept his arms constricted before his chest.

Sam asked from where he sat opposite Steve: "How's that even possible? It was like seventy years ago."

Nat was looking worriedly at Arianna sitting beside Steve, deathly pale and holding her side tightly, but her gaze flickered to Steve as he replied slowly: "Zola. Bucky's whole unit was captured in '43, Zola experimented on 'em. Whatever he did, it helped Bucky survive the fall."

He slowly lifted his eyes again, staring blankly into space as he said in a tone of self-loathing: "They must have found him."

"None of that's your fault, Steve." Nat said flatly, but Steve wasn't even listening as he muttered: "Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky."

Arianna hadn't said anything, and Sam glanced at her, trying to hint at her to help comfort the Cap. It was then that he noticed how white her face was, even her lips had lost their color. He glanced down to see where she was holding tightly, and he saw the blood seeping through her fingers.

"We need to get a doctor here." Sam said sharply as he looked at their captors. He ordered as Nat looked at Arianna once again, worriedly: "We don't put pressure on that wound she's gonna bleed out here in the truck."

Steve looked over at Sam in surprise and confusion, tensing as one of the agents drew their taser. Sam also flinched a little, glaring at the agent. They all blinked as the agent suddenly whacked the taser into his comrade, knocking him out.

Arianna lifted her head to look at the now unconscious agent on the ground, and then looked over as the attacking agent removed her helmet to reveal none other than Maria Hill.

"That thing was squeezing my brain." She complained and then looked at Arianna.

"Right, we need to get you out." She muttered and then glanced back at Sam. She asked Steve as they all stared at her dumbfounded: "Who's this guy?"

"Not important right now, Arianna needs help, immediately." Nat interrupted tightly as Steve noticed, for the first time, how ashen the agent was.

His stomach twisted guiltily as he realized he'd been so caught up with Bucky, he hadn't even noticed her wound. She saw his face though, and shook her head firmly at him as Maria began to burn a hole in the floor of the vehicle.

"You were worried about your friend." She said quietly, and the others glanced at her and then Steve.

He ignored them as he replied just as quietly: "Doesn't excuse the fact that I didn't even notice one of my teammates was injured."

She shrugged slightly and Maria interrupted: "We need to go." She indicated the hole and nodded at Arianna. "Steve, you take her and the rest of you follow me."

She dropped through, rolling on the ground and avoiding the car tires as drove on. Sam followed, taking Nat as he noticed her bleeding shoulder, while Steve gripped Arianna.

"Sorry." He muttered in her ear before he dropped them through the hole. He was careful to avoid jostling her too much as they rolled to a stop, but even then she was gritting her teeth against the pain. He carried her quickly as they slipped off the road and she didn't fight it, knowing she would slow them down if she insisted on walking. Steve carried her bridal style as they ducked through the undergrowth, following Maria until they reached another van.

Maria opened the door and ushered them all in, checking their surroundings to make sure they weren't noticed or being followed before she slid in after them and they drove off.

* * *

Steve hopped out first as they arrived at a secret facility, not far from the Triskelion itself, tucked away deep in the woods just outside the city. Sam handed Arianna over to him, before following and Nat crawled out last, also grunting in pain. Her wound was slightly less severe but she'd also lost quite a bit of blood by this point.

Arianna meanwhile was so pale, she looked like she'd faint at any moment although she kept a tight hold on the cloth Maria had handed her to press to her wound. Steve was extremely worried about her as he carried her after Maria as the agent led them into the facility, calling down the passage as a doctor ran up: "GSW. She's lost at least a pint."

"Maybe two." Sam added.

"Let me take her!" The doctor called, but Maria said grimly: "She'll want to see him first."

She gestured to Steve to follow and he did so hesitantly, his body telling him to just hand Arianna over to the doctor quickly to get medical treatment. But she was staring after Maria's back intently, and so he went against every cell in his body and carried her with him as they followed Maria deeper into the facility.

He promptly almost dropped her in shock and he heard Nat gasp as Maria pulled aside bed curtains to reveal a recuperating Fury. Fury lifted his head at the noise and when he saw them, he said in a tired voice: "About damn time."

"You son of a-" Arianna began, sounding outraged, but she winced and Steve shushed her as she lost what little color she'd had- which was basically nothing- while her hand gripped the cloth on her side.

Fury looked vaguely amused as he watched the pair and he called: "Is that the first words you have to say to your old friend after he comes back from the dead?"

"I'll show you 'friend'." Arianna snarled through her teeth gritted in pain, and Steve snapped at her: "Ria, let it go."

He spotted a doctor coming running with some medical kits and he muttered: "Let's get you treated."

She continued to glare at Fury as Steve set her down on a seat beside Fury's bed and the doctor began to treat her side. Steve turned to face Fury as another doctor hurried in and began to treat Nat's shoulder.

Fury saw the look on the Captain's face and he avoided it as he began to list: "Lacerated spinal column, cracked sternum, shattered collarbone, perforated liver, one hell of a headache."

"Don't forget your collapsed lung." The doctor treating Nat added, and Fury said a little sarcastically: "Oh, let's not forget that. Otherwise, I'm good."

"They cut you open, your heart stopped." Nat argued.

"Tetrodotoxin B." Arianna muttered bitterly.

The others glanced at her, but she'd worked it out after she'd had the chance to calm down a little. Fury nodded once as he elaborated: "Slows the pulse to one beat a minute. Banner developed it for stress. Didn't work so great for him, but we found a use for it."

"I hate you." Arianna muttered and Fury did the best attempt at a shrug that his beaten body could.

Steve interjected irritably: "Why all the secrecy? Why not just tell us?"

Maria piped up: "Any attempt on the director's life had to look successful."

Fury pointed out: "Can't kill you if you're already dead. Besides," he glanced at Nat and Arianna, "I wasn't sure who to trust."

Neither agent could argue with that, but Steve scowled.

"I thought you trusted Ria." He pointed out, and Fury did his mini-shrug again.

"I also trusted Alexander Pierce. Look where that got me." He pointed out, and Steve elapsed into silence. Fury continued: "I've said this before, but I try not to place all my eggs in one basket. But at least know this," he looked at each of them, "I trusted you enough to give you the pieces. I waited to see if you would team to put it together."

He'd turned his eye to Arianna pointedly at the end but she avoided looking at him. She looked down at her wound with sudden interest, even as her face fell into a frown. Everyone seemed intent lately on forcing her to open up honestly to Steve.

The problem was… after her talk with Nat, she was starting to want to. And now with the sudden return of Bucky Barnes shaking Steve to the core… Arianna was beginning to wonder if maybe she'd made the wrong call. She'd done it to save herself and Steve what she'd thought would be certain heartache… but now, she wasn't so sure. Was she causing him unnecessary hurt because of her decision?

* * *

Once Arianna and Nat had been fully treated, Fury pulled himself out of bed and into a side room to lead the debriefing. He sighed as he held up a picture of Pierce, and he told them quietly: "This man declined the Nobel Peace Prize. He said, 'Peace wasn't an achievement, it was a responsibility'."

He tossed the photo down as he said bitterly: "See, it's stuff like this that gives me trust issues."

"We have to stop the launch." Nat murmured, turning to look at Steve.

Fury commented dryly: "I don't think the Council's accepting my calls anymore."

He opened up a briefcase Maria had laid out on the table, and they looked inside to see three chips inside.

"What's that?" Sam asked for all of them, and Maria explained as she showed them the plans on a laptop: "Once the Helicarriers reach three thousand feet, they'll triangulate with Insight satellites becoming fully weaponized."

"We need to breach those carriers and replace their targeting blades with our own." Fury told them, and Maria added grimly: "One or two won't cut it. We need to link all three carriers for this to work, because if even one of those ships remains operational a whole lot of people are gonna die."

Arianna clenched her fists, as the others looked grim. Steve was frowning deeply as Fury continued: "We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is HYDRA. We need to get pass them, insert the server blades, and maybe, just maybe, we can salvage what's left-"

"We're not salvaging anything." Steve interrupted sharply. Fury looked at him in surprise as Steve told Fury tightly: "We're not just taking down the carriers, Nick, we're taking down SHIELD."

"SHIELD had nothing to do with it." Fury argued, but Steve cut across him again as he said harshly: "You gave me this mission, this is how it ends."

Nat's face tightened while Arianna's became pensive as Steve pointed out: "SHIELD's been compromised, you've said so yourself. HYDRA was right under your nose and nobody noticed."

"Why do you think we're meeting in this cave? I noticed." Fury snapped.

Steve gestured at Arianna as he countered: "And look what had to happen before you did. How many paid the price before you did?" He asked scathingly.

Fury lowered his head as he said quietly: "Look, I'm sorry Hart and Romanoff had to get hurt. And… I didn't know about Barnes."

"Even if you have, would you have told me?" Steve asked pointedly. "Or would you have compartmentalized that too? SHIELD, HYDRA, it all goes."

"He's right." Maria said sadly, and Fury looked at her. He turned his gaze to Natasha, who didn't answer, and then Sam.

"Don't look at me. I do what he does, just slower." Sam replied, and Steve nodded in thanks. He turned to Fury, but the former Director was now looking at Arianna.

She looked right back at him as she said softly: "You know whose side I'll choose."

Steve looked a tad surprised at that, and he glanced at her questioningly but she didn't look at him, just looked down at her hands again.

Fury nodded slowly and then leaned back in his chair as he said at last: "Well... Looks like you're giving the orders now, Captain."

There was no bitterness in his voice, and he sounded faintly proud although Steve could see a deep grief swirling in the man's eye. SHIELD's loss would be a large blow, for him and for the other agents, but they could all see the inevitability. HYDRA needed to be stopped… but where did the Winter Soldier fall in this decision? Steve lowered his head slightly and his heart was heavy as he contemplated what needed to be done from now on.

* * *

Arianna walked out onto the bridge slowly, hesitantly. She wasn't sure this was the right thing to do and she was incredibly aware she was starting to send mixed signals to Steve. But seeing him in pain was always something she couldn't handle, and she always wanted to try to do what she could to ease it, even if only a little.

As she approached he looked up, sensing her presence immediately. He didn't speak, just watched her as she walked up uncertainly. When she finally ended up next to him, he turned back to look out over the side of the bridge, commenting: "You shouldn't be walking around yet with your injury."

"I know." She replied quietly, also turning to lean on the railings, careful not to pull her side and risk pulling the stitches. There was a moment's silence, before she asked quietly: "Are you okay?"

He snorted a little at that as he muttered: "No."

Her face filled with sorrow and she touched his arm gently. He didn't look at her, and they stood for a moment, staring out into the wilderness. Steve suddenly spoke, startling Arianna as he broke the silence. "When my mother died, I left the funeral on my own because I didn't want to be around other people."

She glanced at him, wondering if this was a subtle hint, but he continued: "Bucky eventually found me when I got back to my small apartment. He'd looked for me after the service, and he came to offer that I stay at his place. He even tried to offer some chores I could do in exchange for staying with his folks, knowing I hated accepting favors, even if it was from my closest friend."

Arianna smiled just a little at that- she could definitely picture that. Steve had also smiled a little at the memory, but his face became pensive again as he said softly: "I remember what I told him as I rejected his offer. 'I can get by on my own'."

He paused and then said quietly: "I'll never forget what Bucky told me. He told me I didn't have to because he'd be with me till the end of the line."

Arianna's face softened as she glanced at Steve. He continued to stare out into space as he murmured: "I can still see him right in front of me as he said that to me."

He finally turned to look down at he, and Arianna stared up at him sadly. His heart tugged as he saw the familiar warmth, absent for so long, as she stared into his eyes.

She said gently: "Steve, he may not be in there anymore," he bowed his head but jerked it up again in surprise as she finished, "and I want you to know I'll help you, whether you choose to stop him… or save him."

He stared at her wordlessly and she said seriously: "I know it hasn't been great between us, but I wanted you to know… I will always have your back when you need it."

They stood for a moment in silence, Steve digesting her words. He wanted to ask her why she was choosing to say this now, and what this meant for them from now on. If there was a future after today. And he could see in her eyes that there was something more she wanted to say, which was a change from the past few months.

But they were out of time.

Steve saw Nat and Sam appear in the doorway far behind, watching the pair on the bride. Arianna saw his glance and also looked back, sending a measured look in Nat's direction. Neither side moved for a moment and then Arianna sighed. Giving Steve one last look, she turned and walked back towards the facility.

Steve watched her go, keeping his eyes on her back as she joined Nat and the pair walked inside without a backward glance. He silently vowed that when this mess was over, he and Arianna were going to talk this out. Whatever they decided after, he wanted to at least try to amend their relationship, and if nothing else at least he would no longer regret that he never even tried to hang onto her.

Sam walked over slowly, coming to stand before the brooding super-soldier.

"You okay, man?" He asked seriously, and Steve glanced at him before nodding once.

"I will be." He answered shortly.

Sam continued to watch him with sharp eyes and Steve met his gaze determinedly.

"Gear up, it's time." Steve ordered, before he turned on his own heels and walked off the bridge in the opposite direction of the facility.

"You gonna wear that?" Sam called after him in a mix of skepticism and amusement.

"No." Steve answered evenly. He looked back briefly as he added pointedly: "If you're gonna fight a war, you gotta wear a uniform."

Sam grinned, and he watched as Steve disappeared into the forest before turning back to the facility. His face became serious once more as he headed inside, joining the other agents as they readied for the battle to come.

* * *

 _Some time later at the Smithsonian Museum_

The guard, Stan, strode through the museum, swinging his baton absently as he want about his usual patrol. He was making his rounds through the Captain America exhibit, a pointless task in his opinion. What was someone going to do, steal the plastic Captain America shield on display? He highly doubted it.

He was thinking about his coffee break, Mary had promised donuts today, when he noticed something in the corner of his eye. He stopped and stared in horror at the mannequin display of the Captain and his Howling Commandos. The display held each of the war heroes' uniforms, or was supposed to.

Stan stared at the Captain America mannequin, which had been stripped of its uniform, leaving only the plastic shield. He blinked slowly at the stars and stripes shield that seemed to be mocking him as it stood proudly against the naked mannequin.

"Oh, man." The old man breathed. "I am so fired!"


	22. SHIELD

With just over two hours left until Insight's launch, Maria, Sam, Arianna and Steve walked determinedly towards the Triskelion. As they came upon the building, Arianna glanced back at Steve. He stood staring at what used to be their base, and beneath his newly 'borrowed' mask was a grim look of determination.

He caught her look and just said firmly: "Let's go."

She nodded and Maria led the way as the four slipped into the Triskelion. It was actually a little disappointing how easily they managed to get inside and if it wasn't for the fact that they were arguably the best agents- particularly with the highly ranked Maria with them- Arianna would've been ashamed of SHIELD's security.

 _Although, I suppose I should be thankful._ She thought as they made their way easily down the stairs towards the technician room. At Steve's signal, Arianna punched the short code into her phone, sending a blast of feedback into the technicians' earpieces.

She quickly cut the feed before her signal could be traced, and pulled out her gun. Sam and Maria lifted their guns as well, the three flanking Steve as they waited. After a minute, the lock beeped and the door opened.

Arianna trained her gun on the tech who'd kindly unlocked the door for them, and the man flinched as he found himself facing three gun barrels. Steve stepped forward, saying politely: "Excuse us."

The man quickly lifted his hands in surrender as the other technicians also looked over questioningly. They immediately followed their comrade's example, raising their hands into the air as Captain America strode into the room, flanked by Maria Hill, Falcon, and Aria.

Arianna quickly took over one of the computers, easily bypassing security and pulling up the link they needed.

"129 minutes until launch." Maria informed them tensely, and Steve nodded as Arianna stood up again. The agent nodded at him as she gestured at the microphone.

"You're on." Arianna told him and Steve took a deep breath before leaning into the microphone.

"Attention, all SHIELD agents." He called and Arianna kept an eye on the computer to make sure his message would continue to be broadcast throughout the whole building.

"This is Steve Rogers. You've heard a lot about me over the last few days, some of you were even ordered to hunt me down. But I think it's time you know the truth." He paused, steeling himself before he informed the building: "SHIELD is not what we thought it was, it's been taken over by HYDRA. Alexander Pierce is their leader."

Arianna could hear a few sharp intakes of breath from the technicians behind them. She could only imagine how other agents were reacting.

"The STRIKE and Insight crew are HYDRA as well. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building. They could be standing right next to you. They almost have what they want: absolute control. They shot Nick Fury and it won't end there."

"If you launch those Helicarriers today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way, unless we stop them. I know I'm asking a lot, but the price of freedom is high, it always has been, and it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one, then so be it."

He paused and glanced at Arianna as she did the same for him. Blue eyes met hazel as Steve finished firmly: "But I'm willing to bet I'm not."

He held Arianna's gaze as she clicked off the microphone without looking away from him. Maria watched with a determined expression, while Sam stepped forward and quipped: "Did you write that down first, or was it off the top of your head?"

Both Steve and Arianna's lips tugged up into small grins, and they broke eye contact to shoot amused looks at the smug man. The humorous moment was short-lived, however, and Steve's eyes became steely once more as he ordered: "Let's move out."

He and Falcon moved towards the doors and Arianna turned back to the computer with Maria.

"Oh, and Steve?" She called. He paused, glancing back but she didn't look up as she told him sternly: "You'd better come back alive. Or I'll kill you."

He grinned, startled but pleased. Sam and Maria rolled their eyes a little, although they both wore amused expressions as Steve walked out. Sam followed, and once they were gone, Arianna glanced at the empty doorway and then at Maria's entertained expression.

"Oh, shut up." Arianna muttered.

Maria raised her hands in surrender as she said with suppressed laughter: "I didn't say anything."

"You were totally thinking it, though." Arianna grumbled. Maria smiled, but it dropped quickly as they refocused on the situation. There was virtually nothing they could do to control the situation from this room- only the main control room had access to the helicarriers. And if the launch order was executed, nothing but level 10 clearance could control the ships.

Arianna and Maria stood by the computer, watching the security footage across the building and simultaneously keeping an eye on the launch progress. They both tensed as the screen flashed with the 'Override' command. Maria called into her ear comm: "They're initiating launch."

"Roger that." Steve replied and Arianna leaned in tensely.

"They've launched early." Arianna muttered offline, her fists clenching.

"It's nothing more than we expected." Maria answered grimly and Arianna nodded.

She knew that, but not being able to join the fight was making her already tense nerves more frayed. She knew technically Bucky was Steve's friend, but in that moment all she could do was curse the Winter Soldier for shooting her when he had. She hated feeling useless.

But there was nothing she could do right now as they watched the beeping light on the controls for the bay doors holding the helicarriers, indicating they were open. And Arianna's nails dug into her palms as her fists tightened in worry as the helicarriers began to take off into the air.

* * *

Steve P.O.V.

"Hey, Cap," Sam began as the pair ran down across the roof, "how do we know the good guys from the bad guys?"

Steve almost snorted but he answered seriously: "If they're shooting at you, they're bad."

Sam activated his suit, and he took off as they reached the edge of the roof and Steve leapt off the side of the building. He landed on his feet, rolling forwards to alleviate most of the impact force and as soon as his feet were back on the ground he pushed off, running down the runway.

HYDRA agents immediately began firing at him from their positions by the bay hanger doors, and Steve quickly lifted his shield to block the bullets. He dove between stacks of equipment and supplies laid out along the runway, using them as cover as he continued to weave his way towards the helicarriers.

A little way in, he ran into a HYDRA agent and before the other man even had time to react, Steve punched him in the face with his shield. Using the man's stunned moment, he picked off a grenade from the agent's belt before knocking the agent out fully. Steve quickly activated the grenade and tossed it towards the other HYDRA agents coming towards him, effectively taking them out in the ensuing blast.

Sam suddenly commented dryly over the comms: "Hey, Cap, I found those bad guys you were talking about."

Steve glanced up to see the helicarriers firing short-range blasters at Falcon, causing black smoke to billow around in the sky as the blaster shots hit each other, just missing Falcon.

Steve quickly called back: "You okay?"

"Not dead yet." Sam replied shortly. Steve refrained from rolling his eyes at the encouraging comments and instead refocused on making his way towards the helicarriers as quickly as possible.

* * *

Arianna P.O.V.

"Black Widow secured." Arianna informed everyone over the comms as Nat clocked in at last.

She sent Nat the hacking code, feeling a small bit of tension leave in knowing Nat was safer now and that Pierce was secured. They had a small advantage in keeping Pierce under lock, but the key would be to keep him there and to keep that advantage quiet from HYDRA.

And to bring those helicarriers down. She added to Maria tightly as she read her screen: "Satellites in range at three thousand feet."

Maria nodded, quickly calling: "Falcon, status?"

"Engaging." Came the short reply.

Arianna frowned slightly. She had no doubt Sam would pull through, but if he and Steve didn't get a move on they would be cutting it very close. Thankfully, about thirty seconds later, Sam checked in again.

"Alright, Cap, I'm in." He called.

Arianna breathed deeply, calming herself down and narrowing her focus. Her muscles were coiled tightly, and she was itching for something to do physically as she watched the countdown, the security cameras, and Nat's progress.

"Eight minutes, Cap." Maria called tensely, and Arianna's heart clenched as Steve replied briefly: "Working on it."

She glanced at Nat's progress and watched as the top layers of security protocols disabled. She allowed a small sigh of relief, although they were nowhere near clear.

She refocused as Nat broke through into the last layer of security. This was as far as her and Arianna's hacking could get into, and so all she could do now was wait. Again. Thankfully, Steve checked in again, calling: "Alpha locked."

His words were confirmed as the first of the three helicarrier symbols on their screens beeped green, and Arianna quickly began typing in to start the override and reboot. Maria called as she worked alongside Aria: "Falcon, where are you now?"

"I had to take a detour!" Sam called, and Arianna scoffed: "Thought you were in?"

"Yeah, yeah, trying to concentrate!" He tossed back.

A ghost of a smile flickered over Arianna's face but Steve called sharply: "Ria, Falcon, focus!"

She scowled a little- he was starting to sound like Fury- but did as he said. She'd just finished uploading the server on the first helicarrier when Sam crowed: "Oh, yeah!"

She grinned, knowing what that meant. Sure enough, a few seconds later Falcon called: "I'm in. Bravo locked."

The second helicarrier beeped green on their screens and Maria confirmed to the outside pair: "Two down, one to go."

Arianna was already working on the upload, when she glanced at the security camera. Her heart plunged as she saw smoke billowing from the quinjet runways. Something had blasted its way and she had a sinking feeling she knew what.

"Cap, you might have incoming." She barked and he called back grimly: "Roger."

"It might be the Winter Soldier." Arianna added bluntly.

There was a pause, and Arianna tensed but Steve replied shortly: "Roger that."

She breathed, nodding once even though he couldn't see her. The second server finished its upload, going quicker as they gained more control over Insight.

"We're in, just need the last one." Maria called over to everyone as Arianna checked Nat's screen.

It hadn't progressed, but Fury called in at that moment, probably as his helicopter landed on the Triskelion: "Heading in."

Maria visibly relaxed for a moment before tensing again while Arianna just replied shortly: "Copy that, Director."

They waited in brief silence, either for the Alpha levels to be confirmed or for Steve to lock the last helicarrier, Charlie. Arianna's hands curled and then flexed as her screen finally lit up: 'Alpha Level confirmed. Encryption code accepted. Safeguards removed.'

Arianna watched as Nat began to plaster SHIELD's records all over the internet. It would be the ultimate move in ensuring HYDRA couldn't run, but it still made her draw a sharp, pained breath. She couldn't say she would mourn her choice but it didn't lessen the blow as she watched as all of their secret files were dumped onto the internet. All of her, Nat, Clint's darkest secrets, laid out for public scrutiny.

But other than that one breath, she let no emotion seep out as she punched in the last of the overrides for Nat, while Maria called to Steve and Falcon: "Charlie Carrier's forty-five degrees off the port bow."

"Incoming." Arianna said shortly as her security cam picked up a pair of HYDRA agents moving to enter their room.

Maria glanced up once to check the screen but ignored it as Arianna stood up, drawing her gun. The second the HYDRA agents walked in, she shot them without a change in expression, hitting both right in the hearts.

"Six minutes." Maria added to Steve as she glanced briefly over at Arianna's handiwork. Arianna moved back to her seat, her face smooth as she returned to checking the security cameras. Not one facial muscle moved as she acted as though there had been no interruption.

* * *

Steve P.O.V.

Steve ran down the runway of the first helicarrier, looking for a way off. Instead, he saw an entire squad of HYDRA agents moving into position to block his approach, and he called: "Hey, Sam, I'm gonna need a ride."

"Roger! Let me know when you're ready." Sam answered swiftly.

Steve answered as the HYDRA agents fired on him and he jumped off the helicarrier: "I just did!"

He went into free fall and quickly adjusted his body to keep his arms and legs spread wide open. He was closing in on the ground, closer than he liked, when Sam grabbed one of his arms and with a roar of exertion lifted them both out of the dive.

Steve gripped the other man's arm tightly as Falcon flew them up towards the last helicarrier. As soon as they were over the runway, Steve let go, letting himself drop onto the helicarrier.

Sam landed right behind him, taking the second position, as he folded his wings. He commented dryly as they strode down the runway: "You know, you're a lot heavier than you look."

"I had a big breakfast." Steve answered jokingly, even though it came out in a tight voice as he was anxious to finish the job quickly.

His nerves tingled in warning and he felt rather than saw the Winter Soldier just a split-second before the man jumped out at him from behind some crates. Steve barely had time to curl defensively before the other supersoldier punched him right in the stomach and sent him flying off the edge of the helicarrier.

He heard Sam shout: "Steve!" but he couldn't see what happened as he barely managed to grab onto the side of the helicarrier's wing.

He heard gunshots, and from the fast, almost drill-like sound pattern he'd guess it was Sam's dual automatics. The sounds cut off abruptly and Steve grit his teeth. He hauled himself up, pulling himself up onto the edge of the helicarrier just as Sam called urgently, although he himself sounded winded: "Cap? Cap, come in. Are you okay?"

"Steve?" Arianna's voice called sharply, probably worried by Sam's tone.

Steve called back quickly between grunts: "Yeah, I'm here! I'm still on the Helicarrier."

He managed to get onto the helicarrier wing and asked Sam worriedly as he got to his feet: "Where are you?"

"I'm grounded," Falcon replied shortly, "the suit's down. Sorry, Cap."

His voice was quiet, apologetic and full of regret. Steve knew the feeling and he assured: "Don't worry, I got it."

He ran off along the wing, heading quickly towards the centre controls. Unaware that Bucky was watching him silently from above.

* * *

Arianna P.O.V.

Alarms were blaring as SHIELD's automated safety protocols picked up on Nat's security breach and sent out the alarm that SHIELD had been compromised. The building was ordered into full evacuation, and Arianna watched the chaos on the lower floors as office workers and low-level agents went running out of the building.

A movement in one of the emergency stairways caught her eye and she tensed. _Rumlow._ He was heading towards the Council room, and it looked like agents Ward and Garrett were with him.

"Hill." She called sharply as she pulled up the footage.

Maria took one glance and called: "Falcon?"

"Yeah?" The man answered with a slight groan.

"STRIKE is headed for the Council." Maria informed him, and Sam answered immediately: "I'm on it."

"It's too much for him to take them alone." Arianna said quietly.

Maria appraised the brunette, clearly indecisive. Arianna leveled a look at the older woman as she said pointedly: "I wouldn't suggest myself if I knew I couldn't keep up. I have enough experience to know the consequences of thoughtless actions."

Maria hesitated for a fraction of a second longer before she nodded.

"Don't let me down, agent." She warned and Aria nodded, her face smooth and determined.

She headed quickly for the doors when Maria added: "Oh, and Aria?"

The agent glanced back and Maria said sternly, but with a small amused spark in her eyes: "You'd better come back. Or I'll kill you before Steve does."

Arianna cracked a smile at that, and Maria sent her one warm smile in return before both turned away, Maria focusing back on the computers as Arianna left. Arianna ran down the hallways, drawing her gun and her muscles tensed as she coiled, ready for action.

"Rumlow's just reached level forty-one. He's heading into the offices." Maria told her over the comms and Arianna replied tightly: "Roger."

She'd made her way down to level forty-two when agents appeared around the corner and they lifted their own guns. She shot them swiftly, taking them down before they could even fire at her and she continued her path towards level forty-one.

"Done." Nat called over the comms, and Arianna's jaw tightened as the only indicator of relief. The records were now fully on the web and there was nothing anyone could do about it anymore. Not even SHIELD. But she couldn't focus on that right now.

As she made it into the offices, she heard grunting and the distinct sound of bone hitting bone. There was a crash, and a man that Arianna guessed to be Sam grunted in pain. She quickly slowed, pressing against the wall as she quietly made her way closer.

Rumlow was snarling: "This is gonna hurt. There are no prisoners with HYDRA, just order. And order only comes through pain. You ready for yours?"

"Are you?" Arianna returned as she stepped around the wall and opened fire.

Sam crawled quickly away as Rumlow and Ward threw themselves to the side and under desks for cover. Garrett wasn't as quick and he yelled in pain as a bullet hit his leg, bringing him down. His yell was cut short as Arianna shot him through the chest.

She was forced to duck behind a desk as Ward fired on her, and the fight between the agents began. She fired back at Ward as Sam kicked Rumlow's gun away from the man. He tried to grab it himself but Rumlow threw himself at Sam, the two getting into a fist fight on the side.

Ward hesitated for a fraction of a second, clearly caught in indecision as he wondered whether to fire on the relatively unprotected Sam. His decision was made quickly as Arianna used his brief pause to shoot and hit his hand. Ward yelped, ducking and clutching his hand and Arianna took the opportunity to leap at him.

She fired, one of the bullets grazing the man's arm as Ward rolled away. He kicked up and Arianna ducked but his fist flew out and punched her wounded side. She grunted in pain, and he used the opportunity to grab her arm, twisting it and forcing her to drop her gun.

Arianna kicked him, loosening his hold before she kicked herself up the side of a desk and she used his loose grip on her arm to spin around the man's neck. Her legs locked around his neck, choking him but he reacted quickly, falling backwards. They landed with a harsh thud, and Ward used the moment to escape her grip.

But she used his brief opening to simultaneously grip his arm and pull out a knife from her boot and she spun him while making a quick swipe at him. He jerked and barely managed to avoid the hit although the knife grazed across and cheek, drawing blood.

His eyes narrowed in fury as he felt the warm trickle down his cheek and he roared in anger as he grabbed at her. They battled it out for a moment, and Arianna cut his thigh before he twisted her arm. She broke out of the grip before he could snap her bone but was forced to drop the knife.

Ward quickly kicked it away, the metal making a harsh screech as it skid along the ground. He then threw another punch at her, but she dodged it and caught his arm. She used his momentum to swing him forward, while leveraging her grip on his arm to pull herself up in a kick at the man's face.

He barely blocked it, twisting away and breaking her grip and they landed separately. Ward cracked his neck while flexing his arm a little as he felt the sprain she'd inflicted when he'd twisted. He moved more warily now as they tested each other with small feints.

He was physically stronger and his larger build gave him some advantage but Arianna wasn't DELTA's Aria for her pretty face. Unfortunately, her aching side restricted her more than she liked and so the match was more even. And Arianna knew that if he got his arms around her neck or locked her own arms behind her back, she wouldn't be able to worm out easily from the STRIKE agent, if at all.

 _God, the odds are not looking good._ She thought before Ward launched himself at her once more.


	23. Bucky?

Steve P.O.V.

Steve dashed down the catwalk towards the targeting blade system, but he slowed as Bucky appeared at the end of the catwalk, facing him. Steve's body tensed and his free hand curled into a fist as he said flalty: "People are gonna die, Buck. I can't let that happen."

He stared at the man who'd been his friend, hoping for some change, some flicker of emotion. But Bucky just stared at him coldly, back straight and body poised, ready to attack. Steve swallowed and he shook his head slightly as he begged: "Please, don't make me do this."

But the Winter Soldier still didn't move, only leveling a harsher glare at Steve. His head dipped slightly as though beckoning Steve, and Steve clenched his teeth. His face filled with determination and Bucky cocked his head, waiting. In a flash, Steve threw his shield and Bucky lifted his metal arm, blocking the attack.

The shield went spinning back to Steve, who caught it and raised it just in time to block a bullet as Bucky pulled out a gun and shot him. He blocked another shot and stopped Bucky's punch. He used the opening to throw a punch himself, but Bucky swiftly avoided it before shooting him again.

This time, Steve didn't move quite quickly enough and he winced as one of the bullets grazed his side. But he recovered quickly and after blocking another bullet he whacked Bucky on the head with his shield, sending the man flying backwards.

Bucky dropped his gun as he landed on the ground, but he was quick to get back up, pulling out a knife as he did so. Steve almost groaned as the move reminded him of Arianna's own fighting style, but he quickly focused again as Bucky swiped at him.

Steve blocked the hit, and the consecutive swipe, before he tried to kick Bucky down. Unfortunately, the man countered the blow, blocking his kick with his own foot and using the momentary opening to punch Steve in the face.

Steve quickly lifted his shield as he reeled back from the pain, effectively blocking the next punch. He shoved backwards, throwing the Bucky backwards. As the other man stumbled, Steve quickly ran forward to the targeting blade system, punching in the code to open the chip chamber.

He whirled around as he heard a whooshing sound behind him, blocking Bucky's knife just in time. Bucky swung backwards immediately, but Steve managed to get his shield around in time to block that blow as well. He quickly retaliated, kicking Bucky but the man blocked it with his metal arm.

He then tried to stab Steve, but Steve caught his arm and quickly brought his shield down to try knock the knife out of Bucky's hand. Bucky caught the shield with his left metal arm, just before it could hit his right wrist. The two men struggled against each other, each grunting in exertion as Steve tried to lower the shield while simultaneously avoiding Bucky's blade and Bucky tried to do the exact opposite.

Eventually, Steve broke out of Bucky's grip and swung his shield at the other man, but Bucky dodged the blow. Steve used the opening to kick Bucky, forcing the man back and he ran back to the targeting chips. He pulled one out quickly and reached for their chip in his pocket but Bucky jumped back at him.

Steve was forced to lift his shield to block the punch as Bucky threw his metal fist at the Captain, and the pair once again leaned forward against each other in a battle of strength. Steve shoved Bucky backwards, and as Bucky backed away, conceding, he swiped at Bucky with his shield.

The man dodged the attack, but Steve continued his offensive attacks, swiping his shield and he landed a direct hit on Bucky's metal arm. He hit it again, but Bucky retaliated by throwing another punch with his free arm under the shield. Steve dodged the attack before whacking Bucky in the face with his shield.

The infuriated man gave a roar of anger and he leapt and Steve. Their bodies slammed into each other and the force of the push sent them both over the edge of the railings. Steve dropped his shield in the process but more importantly, as they landed heavily on the metal beams below, he dropped the chip.

The chip skid across the floor, landing behind Steve, but he didn't have time to reach for it as Bucky stood up again. Steve threw a punch, but Bucky blocked it and they exchanged blows before Bucky landed a solid hit on Steve's chest. Steve went flying backwards, landing on the beam again with a grunt. The force of the blow had him skidding down the side of the beam, but he managed to snag the chip as he slid passed while just barely stopped himself from falling off.

His relief was short-lived as Bucky threw himself down and skid at Steve, kicking at him harshly. Steve quickly dodged the attack, and leapt to his feet, throwing a punch at Bucky as the other man also jumped up. Bucky grabbed his fist, and twisted Steve's arm.

Steve grunted and fought back, clutching his hand around Bucky's and Bucky used the moment to swipe at the chip. It flew out of Steve's hand and fell off the side of the beam as the two continued to struggle against each other. Steve threw a punch, landing it right on Bucky's face.

The man reeled a little from the blow and Steve used the moment's distraction to lower himself and kick Bucky right in the stomach. The kick threw Bucky backwards and off the beam. Steve jumped down on the other side, landing on the Plexiglas hull below.

He quickly ran for the fallen chip, when something hard whacked him on the back. He grunted in pain as he was thrown forward, and he rolled past the chip. Looking back, he saw it was his shield and glancing up he saw Bucky standing a few feet away.

Steve's eyes widened and he quickly grabbed his shield, curling behind it as Bucky fired a gun at him. The bullets stopped and Steve threw the shield at Bucky as the other man ran towards him. Bucky punched the shield away with his metal arm, sending the shield flying behind him but dropping his gun in the process.

He quickly pulled his knife again and Steve groaned but quickly avoided as Bucky swiped at him, and as Bucky aimed to stab down at him, he grabbed the other man's arm. Bucky immediately lifted his other hand, bringing both hands onto his knife as he tried to bring the knife down on Steve. Steve tried to block the blow with both his hands as well, but he was a fraction of a second too late.

Steve yelled in pain as the knife plunged down into his shoulder, but he quickly head-butted Bucky. When it barely phased the other man, he repeated the action, until Bucky threw Steve to the side as he reared back in pain. Steve reeled and quickly removed the knife from his shoulder.

He glanced over as there was a heavy thud behind him and he spotted Bucky crawling towards the chip. Steve leapt over, landing on Bucky as the man curled a fist around the chip. Steve grabbed Bucky's neck, lifting the man and Bucky fought against his grip as he began to choke.

Steve used the added height to throw Bucky heavily onto the glass, shifting his grip to grab Bucky's arm and shove the man's head back. He tried to use the leverage to make Bucky drop the chip, but Bucky's hand simply closed even tighter around it.

"Drop it!" Steve ordered.

Bucky's face was turning red and he tried to throw a punch but Steve's leverage over his neck and one arm made it impossible to reach the Captain.

"Drop it!" Steve shouted as he pushed Bucky's arm further back, cracking it. Bucky screamed in pain but his hand tightened defiantly.

He suddenly threw himself backwards, trying to get Steve to let go but it just ended up throwing both men onto their backs on the glass. Steve still held Bucky's arm in a tight grip and he used their new position to wrap his other arm around Bucky's neck, choking him more effectively.

Bucky struggled, thrashing as best as he could but Steve had him in a death grip. Steve choked Bucky with both arms as the man's face turned blue, and finally Bucky's eyes rolled back and his hand relaxed, dropping the chip. Steve quickly let go and rolled over to grab the chip.

He jumped to his feet and took off running back up towards the targeting blade system.

"One minute." Maria called over the comms, the anxiety seeping through her normally calm voice. Steve desperately swung himself up the various beams and platforms.

He'd just made it onto the platform right below the main catwalk when a gunshot sounded and a bullet hit the back of his thigh. He fell, clutching the wound in pain. But Steve clenched his jaw and continued on his path, limping a short run and jumping to cling to the bottom of the main platform.

Bucky fired another shot, just missing Steve's hand but forcing Steve to hang on with one hand. He bit back the pain and reached up again, heaving himself onto the catwalk. He rolled over towards the railings and used them to get up unsteadily.

"Thirty seconds, Cap!" Maria cried, all pretense of calm gone. He groaned as he staggered over to the chip console.

Pulling out the chip he grunted out through his pain: "Stand by."

He'd just grabbed the chip when Bucky fired again, hitting him right through the back and stomach. Steve collapsed, gasping in pain as he glanced down to see the blood seeping through the front of his uniform across his abdomen. His body convulsed slightly as it battled the pain and his mind blanked for a moment as he leaned against the railing.

But then he thought about the guns moving to target innocent people… to target Arianna. Steve grit his teeth as he hauled himself up again, his whole body shaking from the effort as he leaned against the console itself to bring himself up enough to slot the chip into place.

"Charlie locked." He gasped before he fell back down.

* * *

Arianna P.O.V.

Arianna was still fighting Ward when Steve's labored breathing came over the comms. "Charlie locked."

She was momentarily distracted by the brief relief in knowing they'd at least saved the lives of all Insight's targets but also the sharp spike of worry as she heard the deep pain laced in Steve's voice.

Unfortunately, Ward used her second's lack of focus to throw a punch right in her stomach. It hit directly on her wound and Arianna gasped as she felt the stitches tear and the wound reopen. She grit her teeth and kicked out at him with narrowed eyes.

He blocked it, but before he could grab her leg she swung up to kick him with her other foot. Unfortunately, he blocked that too, and used the leverage to bring her crashing to the ground and damaging her comm. Arianna bit back a scream of agony as she wrestled against his grip on her head.

She could feel the ear comm buzzing slightly and knew it meant the mic chip was damaged. Even if she wanted to, she wouldn't be able to call for help, although there was nobody to call. She could hear Sam grunting in pain from the other side of the room- judging from the sounds throughout his fight with Rumlow, he wasn't fairing any better than Arianna. Maybe even worse.

Although at the moment it looked like she was going to go down before Falcon. Just then, she glimpsed something to the side and her eyes hardened. She swiped a backward kick right at Ward's head, hitting him hard. He reared back in pain as she grabbed her fallen knife and he was open for a second too long. Aria plunged her knife directly into his heart, and he gasped.

Their eyes met and there was no emotion in her flat hazel eyes as Aria pulled her knife back out. Ward fell, dead, as she gripped her side in pain. She was breathing heavily and her head was pounding so she allowed herself a three second respite before she swung around towards the sound of bones crunching.

She threw her knife as she did, and it went flying at Rumlow. He heard the whizz as the knife sliced through the air and barely managed to dodge the incoming weapon. It did hit his hand and he howled in pain as Sam used the moment to kick Rumlow across the room.

Arianna sank to her knees, clutching her side as her head spun slightly. She gave herself thirty more seconds as she tried to force her vision to clear, although from the sounds of it, Sam wasn't doing any better. If anything, it sounded worse as the wound infuriated the HYDRA agent and fueled his attacks.

She froze and her mind suddenly cleared as Steve said something over the comms that chilled her blood.

"Fire now." He breathed.

Arianna's eyes widened in fear and she heard Maria begin to protest: "But, Steve-"

"Do it!" Steve barked sharply. "Do it now!"

Arianna's heart stopped and her mind blanked for a second. But then it returned with sharp clarity as Steve added softly: "And Ria, if you can hear me. I love you."

Arianna blinked and then she snarled furiously. _How dare he._ She lunged for her fallen gun, rolling over into a crouch and as Rumlow sent Sam flying through a glass desk barrier, she fired at the man. He saw her though and ducked, but Arianna just stood up and fired at the HYDRA agent.

Her face was a cold mask of anger and frustration, but SHIELD, Coulson, Clint and Nat's training didn't fail her. Her shots didn't waver and her aim was as precise as ever as she found a small hole in Rumlow's cover and shot through it. He yelled in pain as her bullet ripped through the top of his thigh, and then he threw a grenade at her.

Arianna's jaw tightened as she ducked quickly, running for cover as Sam ran at Rumlow again. The grenade exploded just behind her, throwing her to the other side of the room. She lay stunned for a moment, both from the impact and the searing pain that shot through her side.

But as it turned out, this was lucky. She lifted her head groggily as Rumlow threw Sam onto the ground with another punch to the gut. Sam groaned as Rumlow jumped onto a desk. He saw her and he mocked scathingly: "Is that all you've got, _Aria_?"

Her eyes widened in shock as she saw the burning helicarrier careening towards them through the glass windows. Sam saw the same thing and his eyes went wide was well. Rumlow frowned at their expressions, before he whipped around to see what they were looking at.

Sam was already up and running towards Arianna as she struggled to her feet. Rumlow began running after them as well as the helicarrier crashed into the side of the Triskelion. He wasn't fast enough and as the building came crashing down, he was caught in the destruction's wake.

Sam was barely keeping ahead of the collapsing building and Arianna held her side tightly as she also ran for the other side of the office. Her pained steps made her run slower than usual, and she had just reached the window as Sam shouted into the comms: "Please, tell me you got that chopper in the air!"

Sam skid to the ground and Arianna gripped the windowpane tightly as she watched his progress anxiously. He quickly got back to his feet as Nat called sharply: "Sam, where are you? Where's Ria?"

"41st floor, north-west corner!" Sam yelled as Ria turned to the window.

Using the last of her strength, she used her gun to smash through the window. She worked on widening the hole in the shattered glass as Nat called: "We're on it, stay where you are."

"Not an option!" Sam screamed as he barely kept ahead of the helicarrier.

He sped right past Arianna, grabbing her as he launched them through the window. They fell through the air as the helicarrier broke through the wall behind them. Thankfully, Fury had the helicopter ready right below and he quickly maneuvered the aircraft, tipping it to the side.

Sam clutched Arianna protectively as they crashed through the open side-door. They almost fell right through the other door as the momentum behind their fall caused the door to break off its hinges as Sam crashed into it. Nat had to grab Sam to stop him falling out, while the man clutched Arianna to his chest safely.

Nat hauled them both up and into safety, and Sam snarled as he pulled himself and Arianna into the seats: "41st floor! 41st!"

"It's not like they put the floor numbers on the outside of the building!" Fury retorted as he flew them away from the crashing helicarrier and the collapsing Triskelion.

"Where's Steve?" Arianna gasped, bringing the attention to her.

Nat's eyes narrowed as she took in the younger woman's pale face and she saw the blood seeping through her side. Sam nodded at the agent as he urged: "She needs medical attention, ASAP."

"Where's Steve?" Arianna demanded again, almost spitting the words out through the pain.

Nat's jaw clenched but she called into the helicopter headgear: "Hill, you got a location on Rogers?"

"I'm sorry, no." Maria replied flatly. Arianna's breath caught and her head spun. Nat saw the way Arianna's face blanched, losing what little color it had, and her eyes widened in alarm.

"Ria!" She cried as the brunette's head rolled and her body went limp. Sam grabbed the woman, keeping her in her seat as she reeled from the physical and emotional pain. Nat also gripped her friend, checking her worriedly.

"We'll find him, I promise Ria." Nat almost begged as Arianna's drained face filled with horror and utter anguish.

"I never even told him." She whispered, her voice cracking. Nat clutched Arianna's hand tightly, unable to find any reassuring words. Arianna just sat in numb silence after that as Nat, Maria and Fury worked to find Steve. Sam kept a close eye on the younger agent, occasionally throwing in a word as the others scrambled.

None of them aware that the man they were desperately trying to find was on the crashing helicarrier they were leaving behind.

* * *

Steve P.O.V.

Steve had clambered down with what little energy he had, heading towards Bucky. In a miraculous turn of events, the pair had managed to stay alive despite the destruction caused when Maria had followed Steve's orders and the three helicarriers fired on each other. Unfortunately, Bucky was trapped beneath a fallen metal beam.

At the moment, Steve was trying to haul the beam up enough for Bucky to get out. It was difficult- between his own waning strength and the helicarrier crashing into the Triskelion, Steve could barely see straight anymore. But he grit his teeth as he tried to save his former best friend.

Finally, with a groan he lifted the beam enough for Bucky to slide out, and he dropped the beam with a heavy crash as soon as the man was free. They both groaned and panted heavily as they lay on the Plexiglas hull. Bucky glared at Steve and Steve panted out: "You know me."

They both stood slowly and Steve tensed wearily as Bucky snarled: "No, I don't!"

He threw a punch at Steve, who barely managed to lift his shield to block the blow. The force still knocked him over and then Bucky was also thrown off his feet as the helicarrier careened around the collapsing Triskelion. Steve stood up wearily as Bucky also climbed to his feet.

His every muscle screamed in agony, desperate for a chance to rest, but Steve tried to ignore it as he begged between gasps: "Bucky, you've known me your whole life."

Bucky answered with a punch straight to Steve's face. It was a clumsy blow, the Winter Soldier also clearly exhausted.

But Steve still made no move to block the blow, simply accepting it. They both staggered back as their exhausted bodies struggled to recover, Steve from the blow and Bucky from the momentum behind the blow. As they got back to their feet as Steve continued: "Your name is James Buchanan Barnes."

"Shut up!" Bucky screamed as he threw another punch at Steve. He fell in a crouch, heaving, as Steve was thrown back. They both gasped for breath, staggering to their feet. Steve removed his helmet and mask as he turned back to the other man. Bucky's face contorted and Steve hoped it was because there was some recognition.

"I'm not gonna fight you." Steve told Bucky. He dropped his shield, and it fell through the cracked glass and far below. He pleaded: "You're my friend."

Bucky stared at him for a moment before his face contorted with fury. With a growl, he tackled Steve to the ground, knocking him back onto the edge of the hull. Bucky leaned over Steve as he held the Captain over the edge, and he snarled almost desperately: "You're my mission."

He punched Steve repeatedly in the face, Steve groaning in pain but making no moves to defend himself. Bucky finally paused and he screamed: "You're my mission!"

His hand was lifted above Steve's broken face, readied to land another punch. Steve's one eye was swollen shut but he just looked at Bucky with no accusation in his eyes as he replied softly: "Then finish it."

Bucky blinked, hesitating with his fist still lifted and Steve told him firmly: "Cause I'm with you… to the end of the line."

Bucky's eyes widened and there was a flash of something almost like pain and realization across the man's face. His expression became broken and confused, but Steve barely saw it as his vision began to cloud.

The roof on the helicarrier broke then, coming crashing down towards the hull. It missed the pair but broke the glass as it crashed through. Bucky grabbed a metal beam, hanging onto the helicarrier as the glass beneath them shattered but Steve simply fell through.

His last thought as he fell was that at least he had no regrets. Bucky had recognized him, he was sure of it. And he'd at least got to tell Arianna how he felt, even if he wasn't sure she'd heard. But his heart told him she had. And with that, he crashed into the river below, and his world finally faded into black.

But just before it did, he could have sworn he saw a metal arm reach for him through the water.


	24. Reconciliation

_July 1 2013_

Steve woke up slowly, painfully. Every cell in his body seemed to be screaming in agony and he almost groaned as his senses returned, wishing he was unconscious again. He could feel the stitches on some of the more serious ones such as his shoulder and stomach wounds, and the dull throbbing in his thigh told him that bullet wound wasn't fairing much better.

He vaguely became aware of music playing from somewhere and he slowly opened his eyes to see he was in a hospital bed. Glancing over, he saw Sam sleeping lightly in the chair beside him. The man looked okay aside from a few bruises on the side of his face, and Steve croaked out jokingly: "On your left."

Sam's eyes immediately opened and he glanced over before his lips curved into a crooked half-smile. Steve answered in a similar fashion, although it ended more in a grimace as he felt a stab of pain. He leaned back heavily against his pillows as Sam scrutinized him.

"You look like hell." Sam told him and Steve chuckled, although that also ended in a grimace.

"Yeah, thanks." Steve told him as he groaned against the pain and Sam grinned as he added: "You're looking better than when we found you though."

"Yeah, thanks _a lot_." Steve retorted, wincing as he tried to make himself comfortable.

He also tried to catalogue all his injuries while simultaneously not feeling the pain it caused.

Sam seemed to understand and he listed: "You've got, or had, several bruised ribs, a nasty knife-wound to the shoulder, bullet wound to the stomach from the back and one in your left thigh. You also have a couple other scrapes and bruises, most heavily on the right side of your face."

Steve grimaced, feeling all the injuries worse now. Sam added helpfully: "On the bright side, the doctors deemed you didn't have concussion."

"Aren't I lucky." Steve deadpanned.

Sam's lips twitched with amusement, but he became more serious as he told the Captain: "It could've been a lot worse, and you can thank that super serum that you're alive and even awake right now. It's helping you heal at an incredible rate, which is good. You'd have been a goner if your body hadn't already been starting to mend when we found you."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Steve groaned but before anything else could be said the door to Steve's room opened.

Steve blinked and then his eyes widened slightly as Arianna stepped through. She looked like she'd cleaned up hastily since their battle, dressed in a simple shirt and worn jeans that looked like they'd been thrown on without thought, and her hair tied in a loose braid across her shoulder.

Arianna froze as soon as she met Steve's eyes, pausing mid-step in the doorway. She had clearly not been expecting him to be awake and his heart clenched at the thought. Would she not have come if she knew he'd woken up?

But his breathing eased up as she slowly closed the door behind her and walked inside. Her eyes roamed him, checking him, and as she lifted her gaze back to his, she gave him a small, almost shy smile.

"Hey." She murmured as she took the seat beside Sam.

"Hey." He answered softly as a small smile appeared on his face as well.

Sam rolled his eyes at them and he announced, getting up as he did: "Well, I'm going to go get some food now that Arianna's back. You want anything, Cap?"

"Er, not real- wait 'back'?" Steve asked, Sam's words sinking in a little belatedly.

Arianna winced but Sam replied easily: "Yes, back. She's barely left your bedside since we found you on that riverbank- it was hell trying to get her tended to, because she refused to let you out of her sight."

Steve glanced at Arianna in surprise, but the young woman was determinedly avoiding his gaze as she examined her hands with sudden fascination. Sam continued, clearly enjoying himself: "Romanoff had to drag her with threats to knock her out."

"Yes, thank you, Sam." Arianna finally cut in.

Her cheeks were tinged pink and she was still resolutely looking anywhere but at Steve. She seemed to find his bed sheet extremely interesting, and Steve glanced at Sam questioningly. The other man was watching Arianna with a highly entertained expression but he caught Steve's look and nodded.

"Well, you let me know if you change your mind about the food." Sam called as he left at last.

As the door closed softly behind him, Arianna glanced at Steve briefly before looking back down at her hands. A tense silence fell and she was suddenly unsure if she'd rather have Sam back in the room or not.

She glanced back over as Steve cleared his throat and said uncomfortably: "So."

His face was also turning a little pink, although it was hard to tell beneath all of his bruises. He shifted a little in discomfort and then immediately winced. Arianna's eyes flew over to him and she half-rose from her seat as her gaze swept over him anxiously.

"You alright?" She asked, completely forgetting the awkwardness of the situation as her hands fluttered helplessly around him.

He nodded, quickly reassuring: "Yeah, I'm fine."

There was a brief silence as their eyes met and she froze again. Arianna quickly sat down and she looked back at her hands.

"Er, so." Steve repeated when he couldn't stand the silence anymore and he said the first thing that popped into his head. "What did I miss?"

He cringed internally as Arianna looked at him, first in disbelief and then in some amusement. He was embarrassed but he couldn't help feel a little better as Arianna relaxed a little and the warmth re-entered her eyes.

"Nothing much." She answered lightly. "Only the fall of one of the world's largest espionage organizations."

He chuckled a little, keeping it light so as not to cause strain on his injuries. She watched him and her eyes softened as she told him: "We caught as many of the HYDRA agents as we could in the ensuing chaos."

Immediately his interest perked and he focused on her sharply as she began: "Pierce is dead, Fury shot him."

Steve nodded, wishing he could feel some remorse but he didn't. The man had backstabbed his closest friend and tried to launch a worldwide killing. It wasn't exactly something that Steve could forgive easily.

Arianna went on, listing off: "The ones we managed to catch are currently being held for trial, like Senator Stern, but many of them escaped. Some were also killed, including most of STRIKE. Rumlow might actually survived, believe it or not, because we didn't find his body. Although if he did, he probably wishes he hadn't."

Seeing Steve's confusion she explained: "He was caught in the destruction when the helicarrier crashed into the Triskelion. I'd say he's probably broken most of the bones in his right side and his whole body is a mess of second and third-degree burns."

Steve winced- while he didn't care for the man at all, he could appreciate the pain the man must be going through. He then focused back on what she'd said earlier and he questioned: "But they're on trial?"

"Without bail." She nodded and he answered grimly as he settled back in his bed: "Good. It was about time."

Arianna hesitated for a moment, as though she was deliberating telling him something. She decided against it and instead told him gently: "There's also no signs of Bucky."

Steve tensed and she went on quietly: "He disappeared after saving you."

"You know it was him?" Steve asked in surprise, looking at her quickly.

He was disappointed as she shook her head regretfully and she admitted: "We didn't see him. He was long gone by the time we found you. But who else could it have been?" She asked rhetorically and Steve nodded gratefully.

He wasn't sure how to feel about Bucky but he was glad Arianna seemed to be sticking to her word about backing his decision no matter what. He did notice she seemed to be holding something else from him, and he looked at her curiously. Arianna saw his look, and she hesitated once more, deliberating before she sighed.

"We're on trial, too. Well, some of us." She told him at last, quietly. Steve's eyes immediately sharpened as he looked her in the eye, and she met his gaze as she went on: "Fury's declared dead so he's disappearing into the shadows."

Steve snorted but she ignored him as she went on: "Maria's working at Stark Industries, and directly for Tony actually."

Steve was surprised by that and she grinned at his reaction.

"Yeah, it'll be a miracle if she doesn't kill him. Although, she's actually probably the best one to handle him, outside of Pepper." Arianna mused.

Steve thought about it and he nodded slowly in agreement but looked at her expectantly.

She caught it and she continued: "Specialist Cameron Klein, one of SHIELD's ex-techies, is moving to a regular security company. He was one of the agents who stood up to HYRDA after you made your speech." She added as she caught his confused look. "I didn't know him very well either, but he apparently risked his life standing up to HYDRA."

Steve nodded thoughtfully, while Arianna added: "Agent 13, or your neighbor Kate as you knew her," he snorted again and she ignored him again, "was another one. She's working at the CIA now- if you wanted to know."

He raised his brow at the insinuation and he glared at her pointedly.

"You're avoiding the main point and you're being deliberately insufferable." He said bluntly and she grinned wryly.

It dropped as she sighed and she admitted: "Basically, no-one else's involvement was too well-known so they can move on. You're also somewhat off the hook as Captain America. Nat and I though…"

His eyes narrowed as she sighed again.

"We've got a lot of blood on our hands." Arianna told him quietly. "I'm only even able to be here right now because the government and court are more interested in Nat for the moment, given her complex history with the Red Room and... well, you know."

"But they're trying you as well anyway?" Steve demanded and Arianna met his gaze evenly.

"Probably. Although since I was working for America my whole career, they might let me off. Tony's also promised to back me with his best lawyers if it comes down to it."

She tried to end lightly, but Steve remained serious as he answered: "He won't be the only one. I'll be there to back you against any accusation. It should be ridiculous, given how much you've done."

"But at the cost of human life." Arianna answered quietly.

Steve groaned.

"Not this again." He complained and a hint of a smile flitted across her face.

She went on lightly: "Don't worry either way. Nat's at the committee hearing right now and I don't think she plans on being taken down at all."

"She went alone?" He asked skeptically and she nodded once.

"I offered to go with her, but she said I should stay here… and talk with you." Arianna said quietly.

He froze and the tension returned as she added softly: "We knew you would be waking up soon and Nat said, which I agreed with by the way, that I should be here when you did."

Steve swallowed nervously as he gave a short nod. There was another tense silence and he finally got out: "Well?"

She shifted uneasily in her seat as he eyed her, waiting.

Arianna said at last: "Before I answer you, I want to ask you a question."

He watched her expectantly and she asked hesitantly: "What you said before… did you mean that?"

Steve tensed immediately but he answered honestly: "Yes."

Her brows furrowed and she looked away, swallowing hard. Steve's heart was pounding as he asked carefully: "Is that a problem?"

She was quiet for a moment, and when she did speak again, his brows furrowed in confusion.

"You asked me before," Arianna began abruptly, "if it was because I didn't want to be with you or if I was afraid of being with you."

He nodded as he remembered- along with what Nat had said on the subject. Arianna reminded him quietly: "And I told you it was neither."

Steve waited and Arianna took a shaky breath. She admitted softly: "I ran away because I was terrified of you falling in love with me."

He frowned, and Arianna explained quietly: "I'm not a good person."

His lips thinned angrily at this subject again, and she continued, speaking faster in agitation: "Steve, please understand. I know you don't really believe me, but I… I'm someone trained to kill another person without so much as batting an eye. That kind of mentality, no matter how justified it may seem, it's not natural."

Steve opened his mouth to argue, but Arianna continued over him: "I know how destructive that kind of training is. After Russia, and I know you read that in my file," Steve started, "nothing was the same. I witnessed first hand not just what a cold-hearted person is capable of doing, but what a broken trust can do to you."

"He was my partner, and he betrayed me. It almost killed me, literally." She whispered and Steve just listened quietly as Arianna played with her hands and said softly: "But what scares me more is that I could do that- pretend to care about someone, just to meet my own ends. 'For the greater good'."

She swallowed again and she was barely speaking above a whisper as she told him: "Sometimes, I honestly hate the person I see in my reflection. It's why I built my walls, more than anything. I was afraid of being hurt again, true, but I mostly desperately wanted to hide that side of me. But when you managed to get past those walls… it scared me. So I ran."

Steve's eyes softened as all the pieces fell into place- Arianna's bewildering actions, Nat's words, all of it. He also noticed how her hand was touching absently at her neck again and he spotted the familiar thin gold chain. He suddenly realized what she was fiddling with, and what she must've been fiddling with every time he'd seen her reach towards her neck.

"Ria-" He began, wanting to correct her but she interrupted quickly. "I know. Nat and Clint have been nagging me for thinking like that, but I couldn't help it."

He perked up slightly, picking up on her past tense. His heart lifted hopefully and he watched, barely daring to breathe as she twisted her locket nervously. She murmured softly: "And then you almost died."

Her eyes moved to his and her voice cracked slightly as she admitted: "When I thought… and it seemed like the worst…"

He waited, struggling with her as she tried to find the words to express how she had felt.

"It was like the world had ended." She sighed. "And I was haunted by the feeling that I was so stupid for letting you go, without first apologizing and giving you a proper explanation. But most of all, that I never got to give you an answer."

His heart sped up as he watched her. She looked just as nervous as he did but he gave her a small smile as he saw the uncertainty and a touch of the very fear she'd spoken of in her eyes. It was something he'd seen so often, and although he was dying to hear her answer, he decided it was time to set the record straight once and for all.

"You know, Ria." Steve said quietly. "You might not be perfect to others, but you're perfect in my eyes. Kind, courageous, and loyal, despite being a spy," he smirked as she wrinkled her nose at that, "and always thinking about doing the right thing. You might think of yourself as a bad person because of what you _can_ do. But the fact that it bothers you and that you _don't_ do it, proves to me that you're a good person."

She blinked and Arianna was suddenly fighting back tears.

"You don't know that." She mumbled brokenly. Steve smiled gently and he slowly took her hand in his. She glanced at it and then at him as he said softly: "Trust me."

She laughed a little at that, although it sounded watery, and he grinned a little in return. But he was completely serious as he went on: "I've seen the sides of you that few others have had the privilege to."

She bit her lip but Steve then completely winded her as he told her firmly: "I fell in love with the woman I met and the friend I came to know."

Her breath hitched and she stared at him, looking a little stunned as he looked her right in the eye and said more confidently than either of them thought he could: "I love you, Arianna Hart. And I would like if you could give me your honest answer."

Her eyes were shining with tears and she fought a sob as he stared at her with warm blue eyes.

"I love you, too." She whispered. His eyes widened and then his face broke into smile that could light the whole room as she added, choking a little: "I was in love with you long before I even knew. I love you, Steve Rogers, and I'm sorry I didn't say it sooner."

His smile warmed and he lifted his hand to brush against her cheek, wiping the tear that spilled over.

"Thank you." He told her sincerely and she sobbed a little as she gave a watery laugh.

"I'm not sure you should be thanking me." She admitted.

"We'll have to work on your self-esteem." He muttered. "I didn't peg you as the kind to be insecure about love."

"What else did you expect from someone who grew up into a spy?" She retorted and he chuckled again.

"Good point." He conceded. "Although, given that I was a scrawny, asthmatic kid who signed up for a genetic experiment to fight in a war…"

He trailed off suggestively and Arianna had to laugh at him.

"It sounds rather bad when you say it like that." She chuckled and he pointed out: "It's what you've been doing to me for months."

She made a face but her expression softened as he began to circle his thumb along her cheek. His eyes flickered down to her lips and back up again quickly, but she noticed. Arianna raised a brow and he had the grace to look sheepish. He probably would've shrugged if he could without it hurting.

So Steve was surprised when Arianna leaned over and he blinked in shock as she pressed a soft kiss to the side of his mouth on his good side. He stared at her, frozen, as she leant back and said smugly: "All you get for your cheek while you're injured."

He blushed slightly, and she laughed at him. His eyes softened and a small smile appeared as he heard the sound. He loved her laugh and he'd missed it. She smiled back at him, her eyes lighting up as well as they gazed into each other's eyes.

She suddenly seemed to remember something and she made a face. He looked at her questioningly and she muttered: "I hadn't meant to do that. I was supposed to kill you for scaring me as you did, and doing that to yourself."

She gestured at him vaguely and he grinned.

"You said you'd kill me if I didn't come back alive. I did come back alive." He replied smugly.

His confident smile dimmed though when she retorted dryly: "I wouldn't call what we found on that riverbank 'alive'. I thought my heart was going to stop. You have no idea-"

She broke off abruptly and her eyes shifted away as she refused to meet his gaze. She looked back down at her hands again and Steve smiled softly. He gently reached under her chin, lifting her face towards him. She still determinedly avoided his gaze as he murmured soothingly: "Hey, I'm right here and I'm alright."

She looked at him then, her eyes swirling with emotion. He smiled at her tentatively and her eyes softened again. She leant in and kissed his good cheek, making him frown a little. She laughed again as he pouted, and then she surprised him once more by leaning down and kissing him softly on the lips.

She pulled back, grinning at his stunned expression. But she blinked in surprise as someone began clapping slowly from the doorway and the pair glanced over to see it was Nat, leaning casually against the doorframe. Arianna's face burned as she quickly pulled back from Steve, whose face had turned just as red.

"Finally. It took you long enough." Nat said smugly as she pushed off the doorway and walked further in.

She glanced over Steve, scanning him, before she gave him one of her snarky smiles. "You know, just cause I call you a fossil doesn't mean you need to try to look like one."

Steve groaned as Arianna threw a punch at the redheaded assassin. The Russian easily dodged and she sat down in the seat Sam had vacated earlier. She leaned back casually and as Arianna wrinkled her nose, she added: "Oh, please, don't stop just cause I'm here."

She gestured between the couple as she added with a smirk: "I'll just be back here… barfing into the trashcan."

"Nat." Arianna rebuked as Steve scrunched his face in distaste, only to wince in pain. Arianna's eyes were immediately back on him, and he gave her a small smile. The worry quickly left her face, although she was still eyeing his injuries warily.

"Aw, look at that, worrying over him protectively already." Nat teased flatly. Arianna leveled a glare at the older woman as Steve sighed and closed his eyes.

Nat added mockingly: "You even have the whole silent conversation thing down pat- oh wait, you had that perfected before. My bad."

Arianna kicked at Nat's shins, and though she dodged that too, Arianna did land the blow on the redhead's feet. She grinned in triumph as Nat rolled her eyes and rubbed her foot.

"Stop being an annoying tease." Arianna told her friend and Nat grinned.

"Never." She answered, making Arianna groan.

Steve had to chuckle, and Arianna looked at him in disbelief. He just shrugged lightly, grinning anyway and a smile tugged on her mouth as well. Soon, Arianna was giggling as well, and Nat watched the couple with a warm smile as Steve took Arianna's hand back in his as the three laughed together.


	25. Moving forward

_July 2, 2013_

"You had to be sassy." Arianna sighed as she scrolled through the headlines on the committee hearing.

The most popular were 'Black Widow stands her ground' and 'Widow bites off committee heads: 'HYDRA was selling you lies'.' There were also numerous quotes from the hearing, the common favorites being _'_ _we're [Avengers] also the ones best qualified to defend it'_ and _'So if you want to arrest me, arrest me. You'll know where to find me.'_

"You're starting to sound like Tony." Arianna grumbled as she read that last quote again for perhaps the sixth time.

"Don't insult me like that." Nat quipped and Arianna rolled her eyes as she pointed out: "Tony's not actually here, he can't hear your comebacks."

"A good opportunity wasted." Nat said as she sighed mock-forlornly.

Steve chuckled as Sam rolled his eyes, although he was also sporting a small amused smile. They were all sitting in Steve's room, waiting for the final clearance for Steve's discharge.

His rapid recovery had thrown the hospital staff- it was always one thing to expect an outcome and then another to be actually faced with it. No-one was really surprised that Steve was fully healed and ready to leave, but the admin was still struggling to file his paperwork in time with his recovery.

"So, what are you going to do now that you're free agents?" Sam asked the group curiously.

Arianna smiled a little sadly while Steve's face turned thoughtful. Nat shrugged as she replied easily: "Wherever the wind blows me. Maybe we'll have another alien invasion."

She gave a sarcastic smirk at Arianna, who just laughed. Steve rolled his eyes, while Sam burst out into gales of laughter. Shaking his head, the man mused: "You lot are crazy."

"Be careful, you're already getting sucked into it." Arianna teased, and Sam grinned.

He answered blithely: "Nah, saving the world? It's too much… drama."

Arianna and Nat grinned while Steve chuckled. At that moment, the doors opened and Steve's nurse walked inside, saying brightly: "Well, Mr. Rogers. If you'll just sign here, you're free to go."

"Thank you, ma'am." Steve answered as he got up.

Arianna and Nat raised their brows as they saw the nurse give Steve a quick once-over while Sam repressed a snort. Arianna also snorted as, when Steve finished signing the paper and handed it back to the nurse, the woman began to open her mouth.

Nat cut in suddenly: "So, Steve."

He glanced over while the nurse looked over, a little jealous as she eyed Nat. Nat gave a Cheshire cat grin as she finished slyly: "Now that you and Ria are planning to move in together, will I be hearing wedding bells anytime soon?"

Steve absolutely started, turning bright red as Arianna wrinkled her nose and Sam burst out laughing. The nurse looked at Arianna, startled, before turning red with embarrassment and hurrying out. Steve spluttered, clearly taken aback: "We're not even moving in together yet!"

"You really shouldn't tease people." Arianna told Nat, and the redhead shrugged as she replied: "I wouldn't have to if you'd just get jealous."

"If I got jealous for every time a girl checked Steve out, I'd be jealous for almost every hour of every day." Arianna pointed out.

"What's going on?" Steve asked, confused, and Sam sighed.

He replied as he patted the Captain's arm: "You know, man, every guy would either want to kill you or kill to be you."

Steve glanced at his friend, puzzled, and then turned slightly red again as Nat added slyly: "And don't think we didn't hear your slipup. 'Not moving in together _yet_ '?"

Arianna laughed as Steve looked completely mortified, and she said as she walked over to him, chuckling slightly: "If it helps, Steve, I wouldn't mind moving in with you."

She winked at him and kissed his cheek, making both Nat and Sam guffaw while Steve, although still looking a little embarrassed, grinned back at her. As Sam and Nat calmed down, Sam clapped his hands and said cheerfully: "So, you're free. Where to now, Cap?"

"There's a place we have to go to first." Steve answered firmly as he glanced down at Arianna.

* * *

Steve, Arianna and Sam stood before a grave solemnly, Steve staring down at the name engraved on the stone head as Arianna leaned on his shoulder. Nat had left them briefly, running a favor. They'd been staring pensively at the grave when Fury spoke from behind as he walked up: "So, you've experienced this sort of things before?"

Arianna glanced over as Fury walked past them. The man was wearing sunglasses and a hoodie, concealing his damaged eye. He stopped before the stone head, also staring down at the engraved words while Steve answered with a small smile: "You get used to it."

Fury folded his arms as he stared down at the words on his grave: 'Col. Nicholas Fury'.

"Like the epitaph." He commented as he nodded at the words, which read: 'The path of the righteous man. Ezekiel 25:17'.

Arianna smiled a little wryly as she answered softly: "I thought you might. Maria liked it as well."

There was a brief pause as they each fell into thought, and then Fury turned back to Steve as he said: "We've been data-mining HYDRA's files."

Steve perked up in surprise, but listened silently as Fury continued: "Looks Like a lot of rats didn't go down with the ship. I'm heading to Europe tonight, wanted to ask if you'd come."

Fury looked at Steve expectantly, but Steve replied quietly but firmly: "There's something I gotta do first."

Arianna glanced at him quickly, before her gaze returned to the grave thoughtfully. Fury nodded understandingly, before he glanced over at Sam.

"How about you, Wilson?" He asked. "I could use a man with your abilities."

Sam glanced at Steve and Arianna, before he replied to Fury: "I'm more of a soldier than a spy."

He looked at the other man pointedly, and Fury nodded once more. He mused: "And looks like Aria will stay here with you."

He glanced at Arianna, who smiled a little. Steve also smiled wryly as he answered softly, glancing at Arianna: "I think that's the plan, sir."

"You bet. Can't get rid of me now, Cap." Arianna replied with a grin, and Fury chuckled, before he sighed: "Alright then."

He glanced over them all pensively, genuinely regretting the chance to have some of the best agents continue working with him. But he understood, and he reached out to shake the other men's hands.

As Steve let go, Fury added: "Anybody asks for me, tell them they can find me right here."

He nodded at the grave pointedly before he turned and left them. As Fury left, Steve was surprised to hear Nat call out: "You should be honored."

He and Sam turned to see the woman returning, holding a file. Arianna watched Fury leave as Nat finished with a wry smile: "That's about as close as he gets to saying thank you."

"Bet it took all his pride to say it." Arianna added cheekily, and she grinned as Fury called back as he walked off: "I heard that, Arianna."

With a laugh, Arianna tore her eyes away from the retreating figure, and instead headed over towards the approaching redhead. Steve smiled a little as well as he went with her, asking Nat: "Not going with him?"

Nat smiled, shaking her head as she answered: "No."

Arianna's expression softened while Steve raised a brow. He looked down at the redhead and he pointed out more than asked: "Not staying here?"

Nat smiled and she admitted: "I blew all my covers. Ria's safer as a US citizen and with you." She gestured at Steve. "I gotta go figure out a new one."

Arianna smiled at Nat gently and the redhead grinned back. Steve wrapped an arm around his girlfriend, pulling Arianna in close and making her smile, as he noted: "That might take a while."

Nat replied with a smirk: "I'm counting on it. Though I'll be back before you two can get _too_ cosy."

Steve rolled his eyes while Arianna chuckled.

"I'll miss you too, Nat." Arianna told her friend a little sarcastically.

Nat winked at the younger agent before she became more businesslike, saying to Steve: "That thing you asked for," she held out the file she'd been holding, "I called in a few favors from Kiev."

Arianna sighed as Steve took the file slowly, his face becoming grim as he stared down at the cover. Nat warned quietly: "Be careful, Steve. You might not want to pull on that thread."

"I know." Steve answered just as quietly.

Arianna added a little jokingly, giving a small smile: "I'll keep an eye on him- make sure he doesn't go too far and get himself killed."

Steve rolled his eyes a little although he grinned back at her as she smiled up at him. Nat, however, hesitated, glancing at Arianna. She asked suddenly: "Steve, will you do me a favor?"

The couple looked at her in surprise, and Steve's brow lifted as Nat said, no hint of her smile left: "Look after Ria."

Arianna wrinkled her nose, but Nat said pointedly: "She's sometimes reckless, especially when it comes to those she loves. It makes her do stupid things."

Arianna pursed her lips, but she couldn't argue that. Steve grinned a little wryly and he answered just as seriously: "Don't worry about it; I'd never let anyone hurt Ria. Not even herself."

"Hello, I'm right here." Arianna interjected, a little annoyed. Steve glanced at her somewhat sheepishly while Arianna addressed Nat: "Don't worry, I learnt my lesson."

"I'll believe that when I see it." Nat answered sassily, and Arianna smiled as Steve chuckled.

She let go of the super-soldier to hug Nat, whispering in the redhead's ear: "You too, Nat. Be careful."

"Always." Nat promised.

They let go, and with one last smile, Nat walked away as well. As the redhead disappeared into the shadows of the trees, Steve glanced at Arianna. She was watching Nat leave, but sensing his eyes on her, her eyes flickered up to meet his.

Arianna's eyes softened as she saw the worry in his eyes and she leant up on her toes to press a chaste kiss on his lips. Steve returned it briefly before she broke off, leaning back onto her feet.

Steve breathed deeply as she squeezed his arm encouragingly, and he opened the file in his hand. Arianna leaned back against him, both staring down pensively as Steve ran a thumb across the picture of Bucky during his colonel days attached to the inside of the file.

Sam joined the pair and he stated: "You're going after him."

Arianna glanced at the other man, giving him the answer he didn't need. Steve added quietly, his statement directed at both Sam and Arianna: "You don't have to come with me."

"We know." Arianna replied softly.

Steve nodded gratefully, his eyes still on the picture of his old best friend, while Sam asked from behind determinedly: "When do we start?"

END ARC 2

*A/N That's it for this book guys~ Keep an eye out for I will be posting a sequel. Thank you to everyone for reading and supporting, it's meant a lot to me, and I feel really grateful! Goodbye for now!


	26. AN Not a sequel, but

Eep, don't kill me! *hides* So I know I promised a sequel, and I reiterate that promise now: the sequel is coming! But, until then, I thought I would do a collection of one-shot stories around Arianna and Steve's lives on a regular day. It will just be some light-hearted moments that I didn't get to include in any of my books for one reason or another.

The reason for this is because I tried to start writing the sequel and went on a completely different tangent. It wasn't how I wanted to start the next book, but I thought I wanted to share it with any of my readers who were interested! :)

The book is titled 'Captain's Hart: Deleted Scenes' (very creative, I know), and can also be found on my profile. As always, thanks for reading and I promise the sequel is coming!


	27. SEQUEL POSTED

Very self-explanatory :) Thank you once again to all my readers for their support. The sequel is titled 'Captain's Hart and Soul', and it can also be found under my stories. Hope it's what you'd hoped it to be, as I'm really excited to be working on this!


End file.
